


Rewind Please

by thecolorofstars



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, God Tier, Multi, Post-Sburb, Post-Scratch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-18
Updated: 2013-03-06
Packaged: 2017-10-29 18:35:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 30,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/322892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecolorofstars/pseuds/thecolorofstars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The kids managed a nearly impossible feat: they have restored their planet. They don't know what to expect when they return, but this isn't it. Apparently god tier didn't mean exactly what they thought it did...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Your name is John Egbert and you never thought a glowing blue spirograph would be so comforting. Honestly, despite what you learned about “premature ascension” or whatever Rose called it, you just want to step through it and end this nightmare one way or another. In fact, there are only two things stopping you from doing exactly that. One of them is complete, undeniable fear of what you would find on the other side. The other one is a certain Knight who is taking his own sweet time. With an annoyed sigh, you activate your Serious Business Goggles.

EB: hello?  
EB: dave?  
EB: are you there?  
TG: ready

That one word tells you a million things. Just that one word says more than he ever would tell you out loud. John, I’m afraid. Why can’t we go through one gate? I wish we could all go through this together. Thank you for not leaving me alone in this, I don’t want to go alone. We have to do this. What you long to and know that you can’t do is to return with everything that you really want to say to him. I’m sorry, so sorry that we can’t all just step through the same gate together. When you get back online, I’ll be waiting for you. No matter what happens, you aren’t alone. There’s just a screen between us again. It’ll be like the good old days. Instead you hide that, as much as it hurts to. Part of you wonders if that’s how Dave feels all the time.

EB: same.  
EB: let’s go. 

It took only one word for you and Dave to speak your minds, but all hell breaking loose requires just one word more. If everything goes according to Dave’s plan, and you have to assume that it will, you both step through your gates at the same time, eyes closed tightly against whatever you’re about to find. Light dances across your eyelids, imprinting the spirograph image into your mind as the light swirls around you. Experience has proven that it isn’t a good idea to open your eyes while traveling through a gate, so for a quick instant you feel lost and alone in the miracle lights. It doesn’t take long to start feeling the change. The world around you shifts, flutters, and fades. Dark, firefly-filled clouds disappear to reveal the clearest blue sky that Washington has ever known. The rocky landscape softens into grass and smooths into roads. Houses spring up; filling with everything a family holds dear and just a little bit more. The mushrooms’ glow is the last to disappear, illuminating your eyelids once more with a sudden flash. You can see none of this happening; instead you feel it all happen around you.

After another sudden pause in the movement of the world, wind sweeps across your face. It catches you off guard, but in a pleasant way. For once it isn’t created by wings or powers. At last there is just a natural wind from one of the non-existent corners of the Earth. A smile spreads across your face and, though it seemed a stupid thing to do, you laugh blindly into the wind. That’s when the chanting begins.

Your eyes fly open and your breath is caught in your throat. Below you, the paved streets that you have grown up in shift like a sea. It takes you a nauseous second to realize that they are actually filled with hundreds of people who are crying out and all simply moving. After a moment, you can focus enough to make out a bit of what they are saying. Their chants cheer on a creator, a god and you glanc around frantically, trying to figure out what religious rite you are interfering with, but you find only more shifting streets far below. It is probably right about then that you finally put the pieces together. You are still God Tier, floating above your roof and looking down on the world that you have somehow managed to help recreate. Except the occupants, the same ones that had inhabited your world before Sburb, aren’t as oblivious as you imagined that they would be. Your Serious Business Goggles flash the Pesterchum logo, bringing a torrent of new messages to your attention.

GG: john are you okay? 

You send a quick response to Jade, just to confirm that you are out, safe, and will talk with her later. After her you check the messages from Rose.

TT: John, there is something akin to a worship camp in my front lawn. 

There wasn’t much to say to that, so you don’t reply beyond a quick confirmation that you have made it and are in a very similar situation. Last but not least is Dave. Before opening that window, you carefully eye the various trolltags on your chumroll. They all remain offline.

TG: help

You sort of have to reply to that.

EB: what is it?  
TG: theres hundreds of them  
TG: theyre everywhere and theyre worshiping me  
TG: what do i do  
EB: there here and at rose’s house too.  
EB: i have no idea what’s going on.  
TG: fuck  
EB: calm down, okay?  
TG: i dont need this right after the game  
TG: what the fuck do they even want?  
EB: dave?  
TG: yeah  
EB: i think that they know who we are.  
TG: well shit  
TG: we have a grand prize winner here  
TG: get him the fucking huge pink elephant  
EB: dave there’s no reason to be mean.  
TG: fuck  
TG: i have to go

turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] 


	2. Chapter 2

Normally Dave absconding that quickly after such an outburst would have you worried out of your mind, but your mind isn’t on Dave at this point. No, you’re more interested in the man in your front yard. Nobody else has passed onto the lawn, giving you a clear view of this man. He is dressed in proper businessman clothes, a fedora resting on his head and a pipe in his mouth as always. As you stare at him, trying desperately to push away the memory of the last time you saw him, he raises his hand in greeting. That’s about all you can take. Without another moment of hesitation or much thought to the action at all, you send your self flying towards the ground. In your haste you miscalculate slightly and run the rest of the way into his arms. You know that he doesn’t understand why you’re crying, he assumes that you’re just happy to be home. As much as you wish he would remember what happened, what matters is that he’s alive.  
“Who are these people?” you ask, hearing your voice crack through the tears.  
“John, just tell them to leave and they will,” he tells you quietly, an oddly unfamiliar tone rattling in the back of his voice.  
Without a word, you turn your head to look at the mass. They’ve fallen silent now and are watching you intently. From the ground, you can recognize the faces of your neighbors, classmates, and teachers mixed in with complete strangers. Everyone is here, no matter what their opinions of you are. You would really rather they just disappear.  
“Hold on,” you reply, opening up your open the second flashing pesterchum window.

TT: John, Dave contacted me as well. He didn’t make much sense, but it appears that he is in the same situation that you and I are in.  
EB: i know, we were talking.

You pause for a breath, wondering if you should really ask this question.

EB: rose...  
EB: how do i make them leave?  
TT: I assume that you mean the cultists?  
EB: who else?  
TT: Just tell them to leave, that is what worked for me. If you really want to sound mystical, tell them that you are tired from your lengthy journey and wish to rest.  
EB: thanks!  
EB: i guess i’ll go talk to them then.  
TT: Good luck.

ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]

With a sigh, you turn towards the mass of… what did rose call them, cultists? Glancing back at your dad for a moment, and then up to where the gate used to be, you raise your feet off of the ground.  
“E-excuse me,” you stutter. “I’m very um… glad that you’re all here today. Uh, that being said, um, it was a really long journey and I’m really tired, so it would be nice if you could leave me to rest.”  
It wasn’t what you would call a command, but it rippled through the crowd none the less. Within seconds, people began to push their way through the crowd and head to their homes. You didn’t wait for your dad before rushing into the house. When you had stepped through the door, you had planned to rush up to your room and pester your friends in a proper way, but the kitchen door caught your eye. What you realize very quickly is that after three years of eating alchemized food, you want something that tastes of anything really badly.  
“John, what are you doing?” your dad asks you, following you into the kitchen.  
“I’m eating gushers,” you realize what you are doing the moment after you say it out loud, but you only pause for a moment before ripping the box open.  
“John,” your dad begins, but you cut him off.  
“How much do you know about where I was?”  
“You started a game three years ago, back when the world ended. You somehow managed to recreate the universe and ended up back here exactly three years after you started,” he replies, his tone suggesting that there’s something that he is hiding.  
“Dad, I’d really like if you’d just let me know what’s going on. I’m sort of confused right now, I haven’t slept in my own bed in years, and if the part of me that Rose has gotten to is right I’m probably in shock.”  
“John, I just...” he trails off with a sigh, like he doesn’t really want to tell you.  
“Listen to me. I went through a day-long journey to restore the universe that at the time seemed to stretch on for months and involved dying a few times, only to be stuck on what can only be described as a battleship for three years with a girl who is in a weird way my sister and the populations a bunch of different planets. The things I have seen, done, and been through are beyond your imagination and...”  
It’s your turn to stop now, trailing off at the sight of the book that he is holding. What it appears to be at first is a bible. When your father moves his hand, you realize that you were wrong. Sure, it is a simple black book with a similarly simple design on the cover, but that face doesn’t belong to anything that could have come out of the bible. The eyes are two empty circles, staring blankly back at you, while the mouth is a nearly straight line that curves down slightly to form a frown. Three vertical lines cross the mouth, giving the whole face a creepy feeling.  
“What is that?” you ask, bewildered.  
“This is the Tome, it’s the sacred text of the current most popular religion. Most people call it Skaianity. At first, people took it as a joke, but it became this huge thing when prophecies started coming true down to the exact wording. It tells the story of Sburb and Sgrub, the games played by two races to save the universe and return it to it’s glory. I guess that means that it tells your story.”  
Suddenly you understand what the strange tone is, the odd part of his voice that you don’t remember from before. The shaky worry that he had been so desperately hiding now begins to pull together into one word: fear. Your own father is afraid of you. It’s understandable, you’d be afraid too if your son managed to recreate your universe, become a god, and become one of the kids in the center of a new religion that proves every other religion wrong. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt. You give a long sigh and pull up your chat window again, hoping for your friends. Dave is still offline, Jade typed some gibberish and absconded, but Rose is still there.

ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]

EB: rose, if someone’s in shock should they go to sleep?  
TT: To be honest I am not sure.  
TT: I suggest that you get some rest either way, we all need it.  
TT: I was actually preparing for sleep just now.  
EB: okay, i guess i’ll talk to you in the morning.  
EB: good night!  
TT: Good night, John.  
TT: Sleep tight.

tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB]

“Dad, I’m going to bed,” you mutter.

Your father gives a slight nod and doesn’t say anything as you go upstairs. He comes in a few minutes later with an armful of blankets and a few extra pillows, but you won’t know this until you wake up. The moment you hit the bed, you drifted off into a dreamless slumber.


	3. Chapter 3

turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB]

TG: hey  
TG: hey  
TG: john  
TG: damn it youre asleep arent you  
TG: come on  
TG: wake up john

Cracking your eyes open at the noise, you groan and reach over to grab the goggles. Still only half awake, you reply quickly.

TG: the matrix has you.

It takes you a moment, but somewhere in the back of your mind you manage to connect the reference. 

EB: very funny dave.  
TG: bros alive

Wait, why would this be news? Isn’t his brother always alive? Since when has Dave been Captain Obvious? After a second your brain clicks on and you get it. Bro is alive, but in the game he got stabbed through the chest by a huge dog human demon thing with wings. Your dad was in a similar position back then, but he’s fine now.

EB: my dad too  
EB: was bro waiting for you?  
TG: no thats now how things work around here  
TG: didnt see him till i woke up  
TG: he just handed me a plane ticket and told me to pack my shit  
EB: what? where are you going?  
TG: ticket says that we land in seatac tomorrow morning  
EB: you’re coming to washington?  
TG: no were going to the seatac in alaska

A message from Rose flashes and you tell Dave to hold on for a second before switching chats.

TT: I’ve been informed that I’m going to be moving to Washington.  
EB: you too? dave just told me the same thing!  
EB: let me guess, sea-tac tomorrow morning?  
TT: exactly.  
TT: I’m not surprised that they’re bringing us together, though I don’t understand why we’re all going to Washington instead of to my house, which is much more out of the way.  
EB: yeah, that’s sorta confusing.  
TT: Have you talked to Jade?  
EB: not yet.  
TT: You should check up on her, she’s been uncharacteristically inactive. I’m slightly worried about her, but I have to pack up the Hubtopband for the trip.  
EB: okay, i’ll do that.  
TT: I will see you tomorrow, I suppose.  
EB: bye, have a safe trip!

ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]

Before chatting with Jade, you look at your chumroll. None of the trolls are online still, but Dave is and you decide to finish up there.

TG: jesus man leave me hanging  
EB: sorry, i was talking to rose. she’s coming to washington too.  
TG: well then i should go pack for my first real world meeting with my ectosib  
EB: haha, alright dave!  
EB: see you tomorrow!

turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB]

With that chat closed, you finally check on Jade. You haven’t even closed the chat with her from however long ago that quick chat was.

EB: jade, are you there still?  
GG: yeah, sorry. just packing!  
EB: are you coming to washington too?  
GG: i dont know, some guys with a plane just showed up and said that they were going to fly me to some place called sea-tac.  
GG: ill be there by tomorrow morning, wherever it is!  
EB: sea-tac is an airport in washington.  
EB: rose and dave are going to be there tomorrow morning too!  
GG: cool!  
EB: i guess i’ll be waiting for you there!  
EB: wait, couldn’t you just teleport yourself over here?  
GG: yeah i guess, but i’ve always wanted to fly in an airplane!  
EB: okay, see you tomorrow then!  
GG: bye!

gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB]

With that finished, you hurry to find your father. You bet that he knows about this, but you want to make sure you’re there to pick them up.  
“Dad, Rose and Jade and Dave are all flying into Sea-Tac tomorrow morning, can we go pick them up?” you shout, stumbling over your own feet as you try to rush down the stairs and through the living room.  
“I was already planning on it, son. Mr. Strider, Mrs. Lalonde, and I all decided that it was best that you kids be together.”  
“So we’re going to be there when they land?” you ask to check.  
“Yes, which happens to be at four o’clock tomorrow morning.” He tries to hide the annoyance in his voice, but it’s clearly there and instantly forgiven.  
Out of the corner of your eye, you notice the sky. All of the colors of sunrise are bright behind the dark purple clouds. An enormous sun is on the horizon, blessing the world with morning light. It’s a sunrise that you never thought you would get to see again.  
“The sky is beautiful,” you mutter, walking towards the front window.  
“Yes, I agree,” your dad says, following you. “I love the sunsets here.”  
Sunsets?  
“How long was I asleep?” you demand, turning to face him.  
“Probably a little over a day. You should go shower up, son. Three years without a proper shower does not treat one well,” your dad tells you before disappearing into the kitchen.  
You agree with your dad, noticing with a bit of a smile that he seems more relaxed. As you bound back up the stairs, you think idly to yourself. It wasn’t really three years without a shower, that would have been disgusting. What it was, in all actuality, was three years without hot water. This meant that showers weren’t a fun thing; they were just a quick rubdown to keep life bearable. With that said, you opt for a full-out bath. It takes a few minutes, but soon enough you’re sinking into the warm water. The heat envelopes you and you allow yourself to forget everything for just a moment, closing your eyes and breathing in the steam.

 

At almost the exact moment that you open your eyes, you realize that you forgot to exchange your Serious Business Goggles for your real glasses. The Pesterchum logo pops up, alerting you that a chum has decided to pester you. Again. You begin to take them off, but pause for a moment. The fear that someone is trying with their last dying breath to contact you is still pressed into your very being. With a sigh and a roll of your eyes, you open the window.

turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB]

TG: hey man you heard from the trolls?  
EB: no, why?  
TG: their handles arent active  
EB: of course not, they’re not logged on.  
TG: no i mean they arent active  
TG: i tried to send a simple hello to tz and got rejected  
TG: sorry sir this chumhandle doesnt exist  
TG: i dont know why the fuck you have it  
TG: but theres nobody there to answer you  
EB: what?  
EB: how is that possible?  
TG: i dont think theyre alive man  
EB: they have to be alive.  
EB: i mean, we’re alive.  
EB: they have to be!  
TG: getting pissed wont make it so  
TG: sorry egbert  
TG: oh shit  
EB: what?  
TG: this is daves brother you need to leave him alone now hes supposed to be packing and if you talk to him again hell be in a choke hold until his head falls off  
EB: oh okay bye then!

ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG]

They are not dead, you refuse to believe that. You consider messaging Karkat, just to prove that Dave is wrong. Instead you set your phone down, sinking further into the bath. Closing your eyes, you let your mind drift to your friends. If the pattern follows, they should all be alive again. Vriska will be okay, just like she was all those years ago. Karkat won’t be in charge of the whole group anymore, maybe he’ll be happy. Maybe he’ll be at least a bit less grumpy. Yes, that’s exactly how it will be.  
You’re only kidding yourself with this string of thoughts. It would be an outright lie to say that you are oblivious to the violence of the troll planet. Part of you, the rational part of you that hides under your facade of smiles, wonders if they were killed. That isn’t something that you’d like to assume. With a heavy sigh, you pull yourself out of the bath. After so many years stuck in constant motion, being so still feels wrong to you. Pulling a towel around your waist and grabbing your phone, you walk quickly back to your room out of habit. Davesprite made it a regular joke to freak you out after a shower, when you were least expecting it, but you realize with a pang of sadness that Davesprite probably doesn’t exist anymore.

reflectedSpecter [RS] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB]

RS: john what is even going on

Okay, maybe he does.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CG: I’LL BE SIMPLE ABOUT THIS, SO I THINK IT’S FAIR TO ASK FOR A SIMPLE REPLY.  
> CG: WHERE FUCK AM I?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for not having this up right away! There were some issue with my internet provider and they decided that a good way to solve it was to shut down our services, which means that right when I really needed the internet I didn't have it.

You wait a moment to reply, scrambling for your clothes. In your haste you knock off your glasses, but once your shirt is over your head you shove them back on and reply quickly.

EB: davesprite is that you?  
RS: no the fucking tooth fairy  
RS: no scratch that  
RS: fuck no dont scratch anything  
RS: damn john it i cant do this  
EB: what’s wrong?  
EB: why did you call me john?  
EB: you never call me john.  
RS: nothing im as right as fucking rain  
RS: fuck  
RS: that’s bs and we both know it  
RS: whats going on im really confused  
EB: gosh dave calm down!  
RS: names not dave  
EB: well then what is it?  
RS: david  
RS: david riley snider  
RS: according to my license that is  
RS: who even came up with that it has to be the cruelest joke ive ever heard  
RS: its also the least creative re-naming ever  
RS: i mean come on  
EB: woah wait what?  
RS: john  
RS: i have an id  
RS: it claims that i am eighteen years old and named david riley snider  
RS: i just woke up alone in a shitty apartment and i don’t know what is going on at all  
RS: are we still in the game?  
EB: no, we aren’t. we’re out and we’re back on earth.  
EB: it’s just like it was before the game!  
EB: well except there’s another dave.  
EB: or a new david.  
RS: okay were out thats good  
RS: so what now  
RS: do we just live our lives like it never happened  
EB: actually that might be a bit hard.  
RS: why  
EB: apparently somehow someone documented everything and put it into a book called the tome.  
RS: so we have an interesting book series out  
RS: nice  
EB: not quite. it isn’t a novel, it’s a worship book. kind of like the bible.  
RS: are you saying that were the center of a new religion  
EB: yeah! apparently it’s the new christianity or something.  
EB: dave, rose, and i were even welcomed back by crowds of worshipers!  
RS: thats terrifying  
EB: hey david, i have an idea!  
RS: what  
EB: why don’t you get some plane tickets to come down here in washington?  
EB: it seems like most of everyone’s going to be joining up here, you should come too!  
EB: most people are flying into sea-tac tomorrow morning.  
RS: sounds good to me  
RS: but i think ill pass on the plane tickets and just bring the truck  
RS: because i have this suspicious feeling that the rusty orange pickup out there is mine  
RS: don’t want to leave it out in the cold or anything  
RS: so i guess ill show up a bit late to the party  
EB: late is better than never, i guess!  
RS: shit who the fuck is knocking on my door  
RS: there is not a single person that i would be happy to see on the other side of that door right now  
RS: im serious  
EB: well good luck with that i guess!  
RS: thanks i guess  
RS: see you when i get there

reflectedSpecter [RS] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB]

You sigh as the sprite absconds before you can even say goodbye. Somehow you knew he wouldn’t jump right to grabbing plane tickets, but you doubt he’s going to fly there on his own. He can’t really be that stupid, can he? There are freaky worshipper people everywhere; even now you can see some of them lingering far too long in front of your house. Surely they’d recognize some floating orange ghost with wings from the Tome. It occurs to you for a moment that he might not be a sprite anymore, but you don’t really know how else to picture him. Glancing again at your chumroll, you decide to minimize the tab. Sure; given the circumstances everyone would understand if the house was a mess. That still doesn’t mean that it should be. Just as you are about to minimize the application, you notice a new name light up. You don’t hesitate for even a second before opening a chat.

ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

EB: karkat!  
CG: WHAT IN THE NAME OF WHATEVER PUERILE CLOWN YOU CURRENTLY WORSHIP COULD YOU WANT WITH ME AT THIS PERCISE MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR LIVES AND WHY SHOULD I GIVE THE FAINTEST THOUGHT TO NOT COMPLETLEY IGNORING YOU?  
EB: dave said you were dead but you’re not!  
CG: CONGRATULATIONS, YOU CAN NOW ASSOCIATE MAGICALLY APPEARING WORDS ON A SCREEN WITH LIFE. YOUR THINK PAN IS NOT AS DECOMPOSED AS IT WAS PREVIOUSLY MADE OUT TO BE AND YOU CAN ALMOST BE CONSIDERED A PARTIALLY PERCEPTIVE BEING.  
EB: haha okay, sure!  
EB: i’m just glad that you’re alive.  
CG: ALRIGHT SHITSTAIN HERE’S THE FACT OF THE MATTER I DON’T GIVE A MILLIONTH OF A FLYING FUCK WHAT YOU’RE GLAD ABOUT.  
CG: I HAVE MENTAL FUNCTIONS THAT ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN SITTING IN ANTICIPATION OF THE LATEST NEWS ON YOUR PSYCOLOGICAL STATE.  
CG: I’LL BE SIMPLE ABOUT THIS, SO I THINK IT’S FAIR TO ASK FOR A SIMPLE REPLY.  
CG: WHERE FUCK AM I?  
EB: how am i supposed to know?  
CG: IT’S DARK.  
EB: that doesn’t help!  
EB: is there anything around you?  
CG: IT’S DARK.  
EB: well feel around!  
CG: THERE ARE STACKS OF SOFT THINGS. IF SOMEONE HAS STORED A FUCKING PILE IN HERE I’M GOING TO SHIT A BRICK.  
EB: is there anything else?  
CG: NO, BUT THE WALLS ARE EXTREMLY CLOSE TO ME.  
CG: IN FACT THEY ARE SO CLOSE THAT, HYPOTHETICALLY, IF SOMEONE, ON THE ADVICE OF A NOOKMUCHING FUCKING FAILURE OF A FRIEND, REACHED THEIR TREMBLING LITTLE ARM OUT TO FEEL FOR ANY NEARBY IDENTIFYING LANDMARKS JUST A LITTLE TO QUICKLY FOR THIS FUCKING UNIVERSE TO COMPREHEND, THEY COULD NEARLY BREAK THEIR HAND-ARM JOINT ON A COLD, HARD, SEEMINGLY HOLLOW WALL.  
CG: HYPOTHETICALLY.  
EB: you’re trembling?  
CG: THAT ISN’T THE FUCKING POINT.  
EB: okay so it’s dark and there are walls close to you...  
EB: maybe it would help to know which planet you are on.  
CG: NO SHIT, FUCKASS.  
EB: karkat, i’ve known you for over three years.  
EB: that’s long enough to know that when you bring “fuckass” you need to just calm down.  
CG: FUCK. JOHN YOU DON’T GET IT. I’M STUCK IN A TINY DOORLESS ROOM WITH NO TRANSPORILIZER AND I CAN’T MOVE. I CAN’T EVEN SIT DOWN.  
EB: okay, was that all that hard to say without a whole bunch of confusing blabber that nobody ever reads?  
CG: FUCK YOU.  
CG: WHERE AM I?  
EB: i don’t know. how long have you been there?  
CG: I JUST WOKE UP.  
EB: do you think you can stay there for a while longer?  
EB: like a little over twelve hours?  
CG: OH SURE. I’M JUST TRAPPED IN A SMALL ROOM THERE’S NO REASON THAT I WOULD NEED TO GET OUT.  
EB: in the morning i’m going to go get my friends from the airport. they might be able to help!  
CG: FINE. I’LL JUST TRY TO...  
CG: I DON’T KNOW, WHAT DO PEOPLE DO WHEN THEY ARE STRANDED IN A STRANGE PLACE THAT LACKS LIGHTING AND TRAPS THEM IN A STANDING POSITION?  
EB: do you have your computer?  
CG: STUPID QUESTION ALERT.  
EB: oh, yeah...  
EB: well, if you’re online the wifi works, so you could just hang out on the internet?  
CG: WHATEVER. JUST TELL ME WHEN THEY GET THERE.  
EB: alright!  
EB: karkat i’m really sorry, but i have to go clean up. my house is a mess and everyone that i care to know is going to be here in less than 24 hours.  
CG: OH WONDERFUL I’M SO GREATFUL TO YOU FOR LEAVING ME ALONE IN THIS COLD, LONELY SPACE. PLEASE NEVER COME BACK, I NEVER WISHED TO SPEAK WITH YOU ANYWAY.  
CG: UGH.  
CG: BYE I GUESS.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased trolling ectoBiologist [EB]

You take a moment to think about the fact that Karkat didn’t really make a serious insult in that whole conversation. In fact, he may have actually complimented you a bit. This brings you to the conclusion that Karkat is actually really scared out of his mind and has no clue where he is or how to get out. For a moment you feel horrible for leaving him hanging, but there isn’t much more that you can do. Cleaning does occasionally have a place before friends, even friends like Karkat. After all, you’ll be housing a whole bunch of new friends and you have no idea how that’s going to work. Opening your door, you catch a faint tune. It would appear that your dad is in the kitchen, whistling joyfully to himself while he cleans. Once again, you find yourself running down the stairs. You still haven’t quite gotten past the rushed feeling that the game gave you, always pushing you on with a new danger and a new quest. This time the only quest that you have is to find room to house everyone.

“Dad, where is everyone going to be sleeping?” you ask as you skid to a stop in the middle of the kitchen.

“Take a seat and eat some food. All you’ve had to eat since you got back was a packet of gushers; you need more than that,” he tells you with a hearty laugh and waves a hand at the table.

For a moment you stand and stare at him in absolute shock. It has been three years since someone actually sat you down and told you to eat. Three whole years plus a nightmare-inducing day since somebody made you lunch. The soup and grilled cheese sandwich that is sitting on the table is an oddity to you, a miracle that would have even Gamzee frozen and wide-eyed. You savor each bite and listen intently as your father explains what’s going on to you. There are various spots around the house that people can claim, small rarely-used rooms that the worshipers have willingly helped furnish. If a few are put in each room and a larger group is willing to take the basement, there will be plenty of space. Just as he finished explaining, you put the last spoonful of soup into your mouth.

“I stored all of the donated blankets in the closet, please go get them and put them in the rooms,” he says, picking up your plate and bowl.

“Alright!”

Instead of sprinting up the stairs like normal, you take them slowly. Some of the stairs creak softly, muffled by the carpet, and you listen to every single one as you make your way upwards. Ascending would be the correct term, you guess, but it makes you think of ascending to god tier again. For a moment you freak out as you notice that your hood is missing, but you calm down quickly when you remember that you pulled on the first clothes that you could find. When you finally reach the top, you only have to walk a little ways down the hall before you get to the closet. As you grab the handle, you swear that you can hear someone talking, but you quickly push it out of your mind. You swing the door open, ready to carry down a bunch of ratty blankets, but instead you are knocked down by something heavy. Something very heavy and very, very loud.

“Fuck!”

Or... someone?

“Karkat?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're a lot different than I thought you'd be. I always imagined you would turn out as some clumsy doof who had the mental abilities of a wriggler and couldn't walk five steps in a straight line without mindlessly slaughtering at least a hundred beasts and starting a few fires."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that I posted the new chapter on deviantART and tumblr, but not here. I'm sorry, that was a really nasty lapse in memory that I blame entirely on sickness.

Everything freezes for a moment. In that instant, you aren't staring into the wide-open eyes of your alien friend that you never got to talk to. The boy in front of you is yourself, just a scared friend-leader who doesn't know where to lead his friends to. He's just fallen out of a linen closet onto a foreign planet and is looking blankly back into the eyes of a strange creature that isn't all that strange. His friends might be okay, but he isn't quite sure yet. All that he wants to do is cower in a corner until he knows what is going on, but he can't because he has a job to do. Somewhere in the back of your mind you register that your dad is calling your name and asking you what happened, but you can only think to do one thing. You pull the troll into a tight embrace.

"Wha..." Karkat mutters, pulled out of the shock that he had settled into.

You feel his body tense in your arms and he pulls his elbows back to shove you off of him, but he freezes. Slowly, cautiously, you feel him relax. A strange sensation appears in your back and you start to panic before you realize that you're feeling his clawed fingers rest lightly on your shirt.

"You're alive!" you say softly, but excitedly.

"No shit," he says simply and stops there, seeming too exhausted to make a big deal out of your obvious statement.

"John, are you alright?" you hear behind you and you finally fully realize that your dad heard the commotion.

"Yeah, I'm great! Dad, this is my-" you pause at the expression of terror on your dad's face.

Your eyebrows draw close together in confusion and you release Karkat from the hug. He lets you go too, but grabs your wrist firmly. At the start of the hallway, your dad watches you closely, but you follow his line of sight and realize that you're not exactly what he's looking at.

"Dad, this is Karkat, he's-"

"I know, son."

"Oh yeah, the Tome thingy," you laugh nervously, glancing from your dad's terrified stare to Karkat's nervous grip on you. "Uh, Dad? Karkat needs a place to stay and probably some food too."

"Are you sure?" your dad asks bitterly, a look of what you can only describe as disgust mixing with his fear.

"Of course, we can't just throw him out or something," you explain with another half-giggle.

"That's actually what I was considering," he replies softly and something tells you that he isn't joking.

"Dad, that's terrible of you! Karkat's my friend and he's a long way from home! He's got nowhere else to go. I'm not just going to leave him for dead!" you all but yell at your dad and jump up, pulling the surprised troll with you.

"John!" you hear your dad shout behind you as you pull Karkat into your room.

You didn't ever clean your room, but that doesn't quite matter because it wasn't all that dirty to begin with. Somehow the insanity that was Sburb left your room untouched. All of your stuff is still stored neatly in your chest, your posters aren't ruined at all, and there's not a trace of that nasty black oil anywhere. Karkat wouldn't care anyway, but it's nice not to have to deal with it.

"I'm sorry about my dad; he's never acted like that before. Normally he'd love to have you stay, no matter what gender, race, or species you were. I'm not sure what's up with him," you start rambling.

Karkat silences you by placing his hand gently over your mouth, almost like he's afraid to break you. His rough skin grates against yours, but you don't make any move to get away.

"John, I don't really care at this point. The last thing that I remembered is that everyone stepped onto different transportilizers. Normally they would have led to our rooms, but Sollux rewired them to lead us out. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in some tiny cramped place and nobody was online. I still don't know what happened. I have to find them, they're counting on me," he tells you, his panic echoing your thoughts.

This time when you pull him into a hug, he doesn't resist at all. His arms wrap around your back and you feel his claws prick at your skin again, even through the shirt. Without warning, Karkat begins to shake. It takes you a long moment to realize that he's crying just because it's so unexpected. It isn't something that you ever pictured Karkat doing. Despite his open display, you can guess that it isn't something that he likes doing very much either. He reminds you of Dave a bit; they're both hidden behind a mask and refuse to let anyone get underneath it. Of course Dave is a bit less worn down. If you remember correctly, Karkat lost his father (lusus, you correct mentally) and then had to watch his friends kill each other one by one. Now he's on a new planet and has no clue where his friends are or if they're alive. That's enough to crack anyone's mask.

"Shit," he quietly mumbles after a minute, muffled by your shirt. "Don't..."

"It's okay Karkat, I won't tell anyone," you reply to his barely spoken plea and keep holding him close.

"You're a lot different than I thought you'd be. I always imagined you would turn out as some clumsy doof who had the mental abilities of a wriggler and couldn't walk five steps in a straight line without mindlessly slaughtering at least a hundred beasts and starting a few fires," he says against your shoulder and this time you manage a half-hearted laugh.

"So basically something like 'thanks for literally giving me a shoulder to cry on and not being a jerk about it?'"

"Yeah."

"Sometimes friend-leaders just have to be there for each other."

After another moment of silent hugging, you both decided that enough is enough and let go. You suggest that he get some rest and offer him some pajamas, but he refuses as politely as he knows how to. After giving a bit of resistance after realizing that you're offering up the place that you sleep for him, he finally gives in and awkwardly curls up in your bed.

"Karkat, I know it's been a few years since any of us have slept in a proper bed, you're acting like you've never slept in one before!"

"I haven't."

Despite that startling statement, he falls asleep quickly and you finish getting the other rooms ready. You ignore your dad, despite his half-hearted attempt to talk to you, and return to your room as quickly as you are physically able to. As soon as you finish changing into your yellow pajamas (they remind you of simple, safe times and that is completely ridiculous because that was a shitfest and you know it) and settle down onto the floor, Karkat shoots upright in the bed and starts completely flipping his shit in a language that you are pretty sure does not belong to your universe. Instead of making it a huge ordeal, you deal with it like Dave dealt your nightmares and climb into the bed with him. It has occurred to you multiple times that there was another motivation for that whole thing, but Dave has assured you just as many times that there was not. You tell Karkat the same thing now.

It's barely a moment before you're both fast asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make a mental note to read some of that stupid book later, there's got to be something in there to give you a clue as to what the hell is going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^Is the summary thing necessary for each chapter? Because I'm just grabbing random lines from the chapters at this point.
> 
> I'm sorry that this took so long, I was at a convention and super ultra distracted with everything. I'll try to update more often! Also, enjoy some headcanon names.

Your name is James Egbert and you have no idea what to make of this. It isn't fair to lie, you honestly hoped that the Tome would stop being right about everything after John's return. All that you want for your boy is a normal life that isn't twisted by some crazy god-like status and demons from another world. Clearly you aren't quite that lucky. With a deep sigh, you watch your son, your pride and joy, walk up to his room as if you never spoke his name. Perhaps you'll ask him to read the Tome, just so that he understands, but it isn't the time for that now. Instead you settle onto the couch and flip to the page that begins Act Five. If you're going to have a monster in your home, you might as well refresh your memory.

After reading all throughout the night, you'recompletely sure that it's a bad idea to let Karkat Vantas stay in your house. Still, if you skip to the last few pages, there is something about a demon's redemption through love. You can only hope that things turn out well because if Karkat leaves, the chances are that John won't ever speak to you again and that's assuming that he doesn't just leave with him. It's just about two in the morning by now and you force yourself to go wake up your son and his monster of a friend. To your horror, their sleeping arrangement is extremely different from what you expected. The beast is curled up against John's chest, gripping his shirt loosely. John's arms are wrapped around Karkat in the best way that he could manage, which appears to be an awkward hug. You want to throw the demon out of your home. Instead you go make breakfast.

Your name is John Egbert and you wake up in a position that you never have been in before. There's a boy curled against your chest and you register vaguely the prick of claws on your back through your shirt. From somewhere in the lower regions of the house you catch a whiff of bacon, but you aren't sure why your dad is making breakfast when it's still so dark out. As the aforementioned boy lets out a strangled noise, you finally jolt out of your daze. It's two thirty in the morning and you have to meet your friends at the airport.

"Karkat, wake up," you mutter and try to shake him out of his sleep.

Karkat's eyes fly open. Instantly, he snarls and leaps. You yelp as he knocks you off the bed and onto the floor, holding you down as his claws rest on your exposed throat. From this distance, you can see the candy red that is starting to cut into his black irises. That you can see his eyes so clearly strikes you as odd and you reach for the word desperately, if only to take your mind off of the terror that is your friend. There isn't much that you can do to stop this, not from what you've heard. You just have to wait. If you're right, it's bioluminescent or something. Before you can reach any deeper into that thought he seems to make a decision. The claws that were resting harmlessly on your back only moments before tightened on your throat.

"Karkat, it's me! John!" you choke out, feeling a cut open on your neck.

"Fuck!" he exclaims, finally snapping out of whatever trance he was in.

It's your fault, you know that. Dave used to tell you all the time about how he'd escaped near death at the hands of a troll. Anyone except for a troll's matesprit or moirail faces extreme danger when shaking them awake. Once the two groups joined up, Dave even showed you a few scars that he'd acquired over the years. You count yourself lucky that he didn't slit your throat and vow silently to never let yourself forget something so vital again.

"John I'm so sorry, are you okay?" Karkat asks, his voice soft and genuinely worried.

"I've just got a little cut, it's nothing big," you assure him.

Before you can continue, his hands are back at your throat. You flinch instinctively and curse to yourself as he jumps back, but he continues on at a slower pace. Finally, after a moment of gentle searching, he finds the cut.

"Damn it," he mutters and dabs softly as the blood with his sleeve. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Karkat, I said I'm fine," you cut him off. "I forgot not to shake you awake, it isn't your fault."

Karkat doesn't have anything to say to that, he just hesitantly lowers his arm and looks you over for other injuries. Finally, after what seems like forever, he lets you up. With agility that doesn't seem like it should be possible given how much you can see, he leaps over the various things that are scattered on the floor and flicks on the light. You watch him blink rapidly as his eyes adjust to the light.

"Hey Karkat?" you say quietly.

"What?" he asks in a defeated tone.

"Go take a shower, you reek," you demand with a friendly smile.

"Fuck you," he replies, but you see a smile pull at the corners of his mouth.

"Don't swear around my dad," you tell him with a laugh as you lead him to the bathroom.

After explaining how the shower works and grabbing the first aid kit, you sit down on your bed and start cutting gauze. Your throat constricts at the thought of explaining it to you father, but you're going to have to before too long. It's better to be honest. By the time that Karkat gets out of his shower, you've gotten yourself bandaged, changed, and even laid clothes out for him. His eyes jump instantly to the patch on your neck and lower in guilt, but you throw the bundle of clothes at him and shoot him a smile. This time he doesn't protest and you leave for the kitchen while he changes.

"John," your dad begins another apology nearly the moment you enter the kitchen and freezes when he turns to look at you. "What happened to your neck?"

You're pretty sure that he already has a vague idea of what happened, but you're also pretty sure that he wants to hear it out of your mouth. There's something that he has against the troll and he wants proof from you that there's truth to his worries. Behind you, Karkat stops and stares. The discomfort in the room is almost palpable, so you smile at your dad.

"It was my fault, I shook him awake. I didn't get hurt too badly, it's all fine now," the words you actually wanted to speak, the ones that you hid under that smile, are glaringly obvious.

I made a mistake, I got hurt, I'm not dead, and I'll be fine. Karkat feels bad enough already, just leave him alone.

"I made some breakfast, eat up so that we can get there in time to meet them," he tells you, all signs of an apology replaced with a nearly angry tone.

You make a mental note to read some of that stupid book later, there's got to be something in there to give you a clue as to what the hell is going on. Karkat sits down beside you and stares at his loaded plate as if he's unsure what to do. When you pick up your fork and knife, he does too. As you stab at your eggs, he mirrors your moves exactly. You start to giggle and he just turns to stare at you in confusion.

"Sorry," you mutter through a mouthful and catch an annoyed glare from your dad. "You can eat normally, there's nothing special about it. All that's different is that we're not eating it on some battleship floating through space."

Karkat rolls his eyes and starts to eat, seeming to forget his earlier nervousness. While you shovel food into your mouth, you rush through an explanation of what you know. His reaction to everything is silent, but you can tell that he's freaked out by the way his jaw locks. After breakfast, you both rush to tie your shoes and you toss him your old coat so that he won't freeze in the chilly April weather. Despite everything that's happened, you're both excited to see your friends. You almost forget for a moment that he doesn't know if his are alive.

"So Karkat, am I to understand that you grew up on a different planet?" the question comes almost as soon as you're on the road.

"Not just another planet, another universe," Karkat replies slowly, carefully choosing his words.

"Yes, sorry, and you created this planet?" your dad continues.

"Universe," Karkat corrects again.

"Did you mean to do it?"

There's a pause as Karkat considers the question. There's more to it than it seems, a hidden question that neither you nor Karkart quite understand is woven into those six simple words. You can see the various curses that he's so used to using form on his lips, but after a moment he decides on something completely different from what any of you expected.

"No, I didn't. When I was in the lab and dealing with all of that sh- crap, I had no idea what I was trying to do. I finished and realized what had happened and I couldn't believe what was going on. I wish I'd taken it more seriously now; maybe I wouldn't have f- messed up so horribly if I had. Still, at least the scratch seems to have fixed everything."

"If you could do it again, would you do it the same way?" the next question comes instantly.

"There's no other way to do it, everything else leads to a dead end. Even if I had a choice, I would probably still do everything the same way. There are worse ways that this could have turned out."

Silence falls over the car as Karkat's answer sinks in. From anyone else, it would have been a thinly veiled insult or at the very least a statement of indifference. From Karkat, it was something closer to a compliment. He'd basically admitted that he was glad to be there.

It's just about three thirty when you arrive at airport and you're getting wary looks from everyone. Your father sits down and closes his eyes against the stares. Without hesitation, you and Karkat choose a separate area that is more out of the way. The worried eyes still find you, but you hope that nobody will bother you if you're off in a corner. It doesn't even start to work.

A group of teenagers watches you from a few sections away. The sign that they are carrying claims that they are welcoming home their friend Irene, but they look more interested in you than any of the gates. Eventually one of the boys breaks away from the group and is quickly flanked by two of his friends. The teen stops a few feet in front of you.

"Lord, there's a demon in your presence," he informs you loudly.

"What are you talking about?" you reply, not sure if you're shocked more by your new title or the fact that he claims that there is a demon around.

"Cursed one, devil, troll, call it what you may," he glares at Karkat. "It's still a demon and something that you should be aware of, Lord."

"Stop calling me that!" you snap. "My name isn't 'Lord,' it's John Egbert. Karkat's not a demon, he's my friend and technically he's the reason that you're alive. Get the fuck away from here and away from us, you ungrateful sludge pile."

The curses fly from your mouth as if Karkat is speaking through you and the wide-eyed boys scamper back to their group, but not before throwing a hateful glare at Karkat. He looks at you, confused, but you shake your head.

"I don't have the slightest idea what the hell that damn book says, but I have a feeling that I won't like it when I find out."

Karkat grunts his agreement and you're about to launch into some long-winded rant about how terrible everyone's been acting, but you're interrupted.

"There's another one!"

The cry comes from the same group of teens, but this time they're pointing down at an approaching figure. A soft, shocked voice rises beside you.

"Oh my god, she's alive."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This will not happen between you two. It will not happen now, later, or ever. Is that understood?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by Nadiya, she helped a lot because I was half asleep while writing this. Please inform me if we've missed something, though, as it is known to happen sometimes...
> 
> Also, here's a fun fact! Unless I've miscounted something, this is the longest chapter so far at 2,209 words!

Indeed she is. She always seemed busy when the two groups met, but you saw her whenever she came to grab Dave for something. It always seemed urgent and he always left without argument, only to return minutes later with fresh cuts and bruises. One day they gathered the group and told everyone what they had been doing. Using their abilities, the two of them had dragged their past selves into the fight. They had to, at different points in time, leave to congregate in one spot at one time to fight Jack. Using that method, they’d built an army that could use time to hop around. That method confused the scent trails, making it hard to follow any trail to its owner, and gave them more of a fighting chance at beating him. Sure, it was dangerous, and if anyone had died the timeline would have become doomed, but it was worth it. When he finally caught up with you, you were able to defeat him easily, but at a cost. Her alpha self, her current self, the only one that wouldn’t doom everything, didn’t make it. Karkat stares at her, not quite sure how to react, but you’re already watching her escort.

“Dave!” you squeal, hearing your own voice crack in your excitement.

The group of teenagers parts as you launch yourself toward your best friend, pushing against the wind. Dave was once a stranger to hugs, but now he catches you and spins. When you’re finally done with your extremely dramatic reunion scene (you note in the back of your mind that it’s something straight out of one of the movies that you used to love so much), he lets go.

“Tender bro embrace,” he smirks.

“Oh shut up,” you mutter and feel you face go red.

“When you found Karkat did you push him down a flight of friendship stairs?” Dave continues to tease.

“No I did not. That was two years ago, would you leave it alone already?” you say and shove him jokingly.

“Whatever man, I can see how it is. You like him better than me.”

You chuckle and shake your head at the old joke. Dave even pushes the limits of the word “smirk.” It’s nice to be together again when you’re not living in constant fear of being stabbed by some dog-faced asshole.

“I hope you don’t mind that I brought a friend,” he glances at Aradia, who is now talking with Karkat. “She said that the game revived her in the end due to the whole god tier thing.”

“How did that happen?” you ask, glancing over at her.

Aradia overhears the conversation, which isn’t surprising considering that she’s only a few feet away. With an almost sorrowful smile, she walks to join your group. Karkat follows and stands at your side, earning a glare from Dave that you choose to ignore for the moment.

“I got stabbed from behind after I thought that I had finished the fight. That doesn’t count as heroic, I suppose. When I woke up and was alone, I figured you all had assumed that I was dead and gone to your portals, so I went to mine as well. The next thing that I knew, I was waking up in what Dave called his ‘bathtub’ and he brought me here.”

Her features are blank as she rushes through her explanation, but she seems to catch herself at the end and smiles. It’s a terrifying smile, one that would give young children nightmares. Somehow you don’t think that she’s used to smiling that much. Still, effort counts. You guess.

“Look, it’s Rose,” Dave says blankly, looking over your shoulder.

“Oh come on, you can be happy to see her. Nobody’s going to hate you for it,” you tell him and stick out your tongue before starting to walk over to rose.

“John, I have a surprise for you,” Rose shouts before you even reach her.

It’s then that you notice the troll standing next to your pale-skinned friend. The clown makeup he had become famous for is gone and three scars cross his face. He’s clearly nervous, watching each person in the crowd carefully, but when he sees Dave he stills completely. For a moment, he looks about ready to rip the albino’s throat out and Dave doesn’t hesitate to return the glare in kind. You’re about to say something, anything, to break the tense silence that falls over your group, but before you can even open your mouth Aradia steps forward. In the moment of wordless silence, her eyes dart between the two.

“This will not happen between you two. It will not happen now, later, or ever. Is that understood?”

Her tone is different, there’s something deeper in it. The closest word you can come up with is hatred. You flashback to all of the lessons on troll romance that various trolls have given you and wonder if this fits that ass-plus-sticks thing that they talked about. Between the two of them, Dave and Gamzee look ready to murder each other in the middle of the airport. Aradia doesn’t look like she’d touch them, but she isn’t even trying to hide the loathing in her glare. When you look over at Rose to see what she thinks, she’s watching the scene unfold with smirk. One thing’s for sure, you didn’t plan on having to deal with your friends’ relationships.

“I wonder who’s going to show up with Jade?” you wonder aloud, trying to switch the topic.

It seems to work. Everyone begins to speculate on why the trolls are even there. The ideas that are given voice are worrying at best. Alternia didn’t survive, the game was protecting them from whatever Alternia became, Earth needs them more, among others. Unspoken theories rattle you more than that. When the game ended, it didn’t restore everything. For how violent it was, Alternia became so bad that not even the trolls could live there anymore. You allow the final unspoken thought to roll around in your head for a moment. You’re not done, the battleground has just moved. It’s Earth now. Luckily a perky girl appears to keep you from that thought.

“Hi everyone!” she calls out, dragging someone equally excited behind her.

Her tagalong charges ahead and slams into Karkat with enough force to topple a building. In the second of notice that he has, Karkat lets out a strangled cry of surprise. The pair fall and roll until they’re interrupted by a wall. Both of them jump up, but instead of the normal bout of screaming and cursing that you expect from Karkat, they just hug and walk back to the group.

“Wow TZ, excited much?” Dave comments with a smirk and gets his own hug, complete with face licking.

“Is this everyone?” your dad asks, walking up behind you.

“Yeah, this is it,” you tell him, turning around.

It’s then that you notice an issue. Rose’s mom and Dave’s bro are waving a bus route map and walking away, but you still have eight kids to transport, plus a driver. Your car can only fit six people total, three in front and three in the back.

“Hey man, you’re going to need a bigger car,” Dave tells you, echoing your thoughts.

“It’s fine, I’ll just take the bus,” you reply and look to your dad for approval.

“You’ll have to take at least two people with you,” he says slowly while he plans the drive out in his head.

Wordlessly and quickly, both Karkat and Dave step up next to you. This earns Karkat glares from both Dave and you dad and he falters for a second before standing by your side.

“So you boys will go with John?” he confirms, still staring Karkat down.

Both of your friends nod gravely, as if they have just agreed to have someone killed.

“This’ll be fun,” you smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Hugs are passed around while everyone just enjoys the feeling of being together for a moment, but before long your dad hands you the being given money for the bus fare. You smile sheepishly as you remember how early it is and, with a final wave to your friends, the three of you head out. Dave packed lightly, so you can easily fit everything onto the bus. As you get on, the driver stops you.

“Excuse me, my Lords,” the driver mutters in a shaking tone. “It is not necessary for you to pay the fare.”

“What about Karkat?” you ask, finding yourself curious.

“He... he needs to pay the fare,” the driver replies.

“Dave, put your fare in,” you demand to your friend and he follows the unexpected order without question.

“Come on Karkat,” you say after you’ve paid your own fare.

The driver doesn’t argue with you, but you can see the pain on his face. This demon, this devil should at least pay the fare if he is going to dirty this bus with his presence. A vast majority of the people on the bus quickly gathers their things and exit. Those who choose to stay move to the front of the bus as you walk to the back.

“I’m getting so sick of this shit,” you mutter as you plop down onto a seat.

“It’s got something to do with this Tome thing that Bro told me about,” Dave informs you, sitting next to you.

“Yeah, Dad told me about that too,” you reply.

Karkat surveys the now-empty seats around you and chooses one a few seats over. He curls up in a ball and closes his eyes as you and Dave try to catch up. His experience was similar to yours; he got out of the gate and was floating over a huge reception. When he went inside he knew that his brother there, but he was too exhausted to do much of anything. Unless, of course, passing out on the couch after a short chat with your best friend counts as something. Bro woke him up and told him to get packing, at which point he pestered you. You relay your story quickly, filling in whatever he doesn’t know from your chats. When you start talking about Karkat you pause and finally remember that he’s nocturnal. This time you actually curse under your breath. Dave gives you a confused look (at least you think that he does, it’s hard to read his expressions), but you ignore him and scoot over next to Karkat.

“Are you okay?” you ask him.

“I’m fine,” he snaps.

“Bullshit.”

“Yeah.”

You pause for a second before sighing and resting your hand on his shoulder.

“I’m just tired,” he tells you, but sits up.

“You can take a nap or something when we get home if you want,” you offer.

“No, I don’t want to get stuck in a nocturnal sleep pattern. If I’m going to be on Earth, I might as well try to adapt,” he tells you.

You shrug and scoot over to sit by Dave again, but are followed by Karkat. He flops down next to you and stares straight ahead, as if he didn’t just decide to stop being a brooding, exhausted teenager to come sit with you. You just play along and pretend that it isn’t completely unlike him to do that. Dave makes this easy for you with more questions.

“What happened to your neck?” Dave asks, eyeing the bandage.

They just don’t happen to be the questions that you want to answer.

“When do we get off?” Karkat breaks in before you can even start to explain.

“We’re in two stops, why?” you reply.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Dave accuses, glaring over at Karkat.

“I didn’t mean to,” Karkat shoots back, unable to meet his eyes.

You push Dave back as he jumps up, presumably to beat the shit out of Karkat.

“I shook him awake, it was my fault!” you tell him, trying to ignore the looks you’re getting from the rest of the bus.

“Whatever. Watch yourself, troll,” Dave threatens and sits back down.

The rest of the ride is silent. Karkat sits with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, Dave stares out of the window, and you just look nervously between the two of them. When you reach the next stop, Karkat all but sprints off the bus. You follow quickly and Dave trails behind, giving a nod to the driver. The walk from the stop to your house is short, but you’re all tired by the time you get there. Once you’re inside your house, everyone separates. Karkat goes to catch up with his team, Dave goes to find Rose and Jade, and you run face first into a tall blonde’s chest. You don’t have the time or patience to deal with talking to Dave’s brother right now.

“Sorry, Mr. Strider,” you mumble half-heartedly and try to go around him.

His hand flies out and you stumble as he pushes you back in front of him.

“Mr. Strider, is there something that I can help you with?” you ask in confusion.

“Yeah, don’t call me Mr. Strider.”

“Why not?

“That’s not my last name.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Isn’t he just adorable?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Between two huge school projects and some nasty writer's block, I had a bit of trouble pushing this out. It's a really short chapter that is seriously just set up for the next chapter, but at least it actually finally hints at the plot! I'm sorry for the wait and the not-so-interesting chapter, but the next one should be a lot more fun.

“What?”

The very Strider-esque person (young man, for lack of better words) who is staring you down repeats himself again. Not a Strider, he’s not a Strider, but he looks so much like Dave that you can’t push the similarity out of your mind.

“Forget me much?” he mutters with a dry laugh after a moment of silence

“Wait,” you mutter, brows drawing together.

“Did you not see the orange pick-up in the driveway?”

Finally you manage to put the pieces together. Before your brain can really decide on one thing to say, you throw yourself at your friend. He doesn’t expect the hug (he never does) and lets out a strangled yelp as he stumbles backwards. The couch gets in the way of his legs and he falls onto it. You find yourself sitting on his lap and staring into his shades. He laughs an honest laugh as you do your best impression of a tomato and climb off of him.

“What’s going on down there, Egbert?” a voice questions from above.

Even before you look up, you can hear the smirk in Dave’s voice. Clearly he just watched the whole thing from the top of the stairs, but you know that he’ll be more than happy to make you stutter and struggle for the words to explain. That’s all that you’re doing now.

“Isn’t he just adorable?” David (that’ll take some getting used to) asks, standing up and turning to face his alternate self. “Adorable, but oblivious, am I right?”

“Very funny,” Dave says flatly.

“Oh, calm your tits. I’m over it, have been for at least a year and a half,” David tells him.

“How wonderful, I’m so happy that you’ve got your emotions straightened out.”

“Don’t worry, it won’t take much longer.”

“Whatever.”

With that, Dave disappears into the second floor of the house. You have a feeling that he’s claiming your bedroom floor, which is fine with you.

“I brought some friends, you might want to go check on Vantas,” David says with a smile and follows Dave up the stairs. “He’ll be in the basement!”

You’re forced to stop for a moment and appreciate how very different David is from Dave. Despite originally being the same person, David has become a lot more straightforward. It’s at moments like this where you’re truly thankful for that because at least he was willing to tell you where everyone is. With a heavy sigh, you pass through the kitchen and into the utility room. It’s not a well-known fact that your house even has three levels. The basement has never been a really important place, just a place to hide boxes of old memories that nobody wanted to stare at day in and day out. The hatch to the dark space stayed either ignored or covered in laundry for the vast majority of your childhood, so it feels odd to be reaching for the handle. Back when you were young, your dad put the door in just so that you wouldn’t fall down the stairs or something. Really, you don’t understand why the builders would just leave a giant gaping hole in the floor. After a moment of struggling, you are able to pull the stupid thing open. The door’s hinges squeak out a warning and voices that were filtering through cut off abruptly.

“Hello?” Karkat barks out harshly.

“It’s just me, David said that there’s some new friends so I thought I would check up on how you’re all doing,” you reply with a smile plastered onto your face and you make your way down the stairs.

Something doesn’t feel right.

“Oh good, we were just talking about how there’s something that we need to tell you,” Aradia smiles back at you.

Terezi’s sightless gaze flips from you to Karkat, who groans and walks into Gamzee’s waiting hug. Sollux and Kanaya both smirk from the sidelines. You have an odd feeling that you’re missing something here, but you choose to ignore it for now.

“What is it?” you ask.

“Oh, it’s nothing important, but we just thought that you might want to know,” she continues, her smile wavering slightly.

“Don’t play it down now that you’ve decided to tell him,” Karkat mutters from Gamzee’s arms. “It’s kind of a big deal.”

“Well then maybe you should tell him, Karkles,” Terezi tells him, resting her hand on his shoulder. “You know what you’re doing, the rest of us are just guessing.”

“Fine,” he grumbles and pulls himself away from Gamzee.

“Just don’t freak out again, okay?” Sollux says, the smirk in his face not quite making it to his voice.

“I am the dictionary definition of calm,” Karkat shoots back half heartedly before continuing, his terror drying his voice to a dim whisper. “Basically, this entire planet is under attack. You just don’t know it yet.”

You stand there in shock for a moment, but quickly recover and hold your hand up, stopping Karkat before he launches into the explanation.

“Why don’t I go get the others? This seems like something that they need to hear too,” you tell him.

He nods and you take the stairs in chunks of five, feeling a panicked wind pressing at your back. It doesn’t take long to find your friends, they’re all sitting in a room and chatting. They all jump as the door slams against the wall, bouncing back into your hand. Before you could say a word, they were still all on their feet. The game had forced you to read each other, to know what to do without thinking and, above all, to follow the leader. Somehow, you’re enjoying the familiar rush of power as your friends follow you down to the basement. There’s a heated argument being battled out between the six trolls, but you can’t understand a word of it due to the fact that your friends are indeed foreigners.

“I was just saying, you don’t have to take it so personally,” Karkat grumbles and turns toward your group. “Okay, do I get to finish now?”

“More like start from the beginning,” you reply.

“Well then the story gets long, you might want to take a seat,” Karkat quips sarcastically.

Obediently, you sink down to sit cross-legged on the floor. Your friends lower themselves behind you and the trolls follow your example as well. Karkat takes a deep breath and seems to run over something in his mind.

“This is going to be hard to explain without a little bit of general knowledge,” he admits. “So I think that it’s high time that you’re told the full story of Alternia’s past.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took entirely too long, I'm sorry. I really struggled with it for some reason, but I think I'm okay with it now.
> 
> Beta'd by Nadiya!

Alternia has always been a planet for the children of the Troll race. Our ruler, Her Imperial Condescension, makes sure of that. It’s a measure to prevent uprisings, I guess. It sooths the well-known and very seldom discussed fear she has. Some of the more daring say that it’s related to my ancestor and the huge rebellion he caused, but they’re usually the ones that get browbeaten into submission long before they reach eight and a half sweeps. At that point they’re considered adults trolls, so they’re put on huge ships and sent off to assist in the domination of the universe. The Condesce sends in undercover trolls to do whatever she needs, then arrives to act as a greeter right before the armies get there to blow it all to hell. It’s a very merry plan that we had going there.” Karkat pauses for a breath and you catch something in his eye.  
“You... you aren’t saying... oh my god.”

The moment that your legs give Dave has his arms around you. He lowers you slowly to the floor and glares up at Karkat as you curl into him. Karkat calls your name, but you just bury your face in Dave’s chest. Betrayal is one feeling that you didn’t ever think would exist in your world. You certainly didn’t think that Karkat would be the cause. Now your head is spinning and you just want him to stop because he was your friend and he might have just admitted to having a hand in invading your world.  
“We didn’t have any idea!” he protests, but you only nudge closer to Dave.  
“Are you suggesting that you are the team of undercover trolls?” Rose calmly asks.  
“That appears to be the case, though we aren’t sure when this happened. As Karkat said, we weren’t aware of it at all until we received a transmission from none other than the Condesce herself,” Aradia explains.

“Please try to understand that this was as much of a shock to us as to you,” Kanaya adds in. 

“What did she say?” Jade asks.  
“It was in Alternian, but I can probably give a rough translation,” Terezi says, but before she can open her mouth Karkat cuts in. 

“‘Hello children, thank you for your work. I believe the peaceful greeting period with the humans of Earth is finally coming to a close. We will be arriving to pick you up within thirty Earthen days and will immediately begin the invasion.’”  
His voice holds no emotion; it’s just a shocked shadow of his usual tone. The simple despondency is almost painful to hear. As angry as you are with him right now, you wish you could just hug him. You hear worry enter his voice as he continues.

“‘I know that you must be surprised, but now that the heroes have awakened, I see no need to wait a full sweep before we attack. Now go, make your preparations to leave and finish your business.’”  
There’s a moment of stunned silence while he lets the translation sink in.  
“Oh my god, we have less than a month,” Jade cries and crouches down, hiding her already tear-streaked face.

“There has to be some way to stop this, we can’t just give up now.” Rose says firmly, looking around the room.

“She’s right, we got through that fucking game so we can get through this,” Dave tells them and you can feel the vibrations in his chest.

Somehow it’s comforting.  
A few moments of near silence later, you’re finally ready to face this. The sight that greets you upon slowly raising your head shocks you completely. David has somehow joined the group and is softly chatting with Sollux, Jade’s clinging tightly to Terezi, Kanaya is lightly rubbing Gamzee’s back as he stares blankly in front of him, and Rose is talking softly with Aradia. There isn’t a person in the room that doesn’t look as if they’re lost in endless woods. Looking up further, you notice that Dave is glaring daggers at Karkat, who hasn’t moved from his spot in the middle of the room. His eyes switch between you and Dave, almost trying to looking angry but not quite managing it. At some point his eyes settle on you.

“John,” he begins, only to be cut off by Dave.

“No, don’t even start,” he snaps and you can feel his arms tighten around you.  
You lower your head for a moment, letting yourself enjoy the comfort of Dave’s embrace for just a moment more. Still, you know you can’t hide from this. Dave almost says something when you finally pull away and stand up. Whatever he might have said, you don’t hear it over Karkat’s gasp of surprise. Slowly, with shaking hands, he returns your hug.

“John, I’m so sorry,” he whispers with tears in his voice.

“Kanaya said it herself, you’re just as confused,” you reply softly. “Plus, I have a plan.”  
As quiet as you are, somehow a few of your friends catch your words. Their eyes are on you as you step away from Karkat, glancing around the terrified huddle of mismatched strangers. In their eyes you can see what they won’t ever tell you. Each and every one of them wishes that everything would just end. All they want is to go home and pretend like the game never existed. Just like you, they want to scream and cry to the universe for being so unbearably painful. Somewhere along the line you forgot that they all know how you feel, but you realize it now. A sense of belonging swells inside of you. No matter what happens, you’ll always have your friends.

“I have a plan,” you say even louder, catching everyone else’s attention.

Every eye in the room is on you. Most of them are filled with tears to some extent. Finally, after years of loathing the term, you think you truly realize what it means to be the friendleader. Even if you want to break down and stop trying, you have a responsibility to your team. You have to make this work.

“Obviously everyone’s got their eyes on us, right? We got a huge greeting, thousands of people literally sat at our doorsteps. From the way that my dad explained it to me, it seems like we’ve got the majority of the world ready to listen to us and do whatever we say. Why don’t we make use of that?” you suggest, trying to throw in a small smile at the end.  
“Alright, Egbert,” Dave says after a moment. “You’ve got our attention. What’s your plan?”

“Well it’s pretty simple! All we have to do is tell every media station we can find that we have an announcement. There’s ten of us, we can manage to get the word out. If they take up arms before the Condesce’s armies get here they’ll be facing a planet that’s ready to fight,” you explain excitedly.

“There’s one issue with that,” Rose breaks in. “I’ve been reading the Tome. It talks about six demons that will destroy the world. People don’t trust the trolls, and they won’t listen to them even if we tell them to.”

“Then the four of you will make your announcements to the media. I had time to look some stuff up and discovered an underground group that worships in reverse. They see us as the gods and you four as the demons,” Karkat tells you.

“I did some extra research for him,” Sollux admits. “While lurking around on the main website for the group, I found a link that is pretty much everywhere. It leads to an off-air video livestream and I thought it was weird, so I traced the broadcaster’s IP address. Somehow it seems like it’s waiting for Karkat’s husktop to start broadcasting.”

“So in short, we have a way to spread the word too,” Karkat finishes.

“Guys, this is going to work,” you assure them with a genuine smile. “It won’t be easy, but it’s going to work.”  
Even as smiles begin to slowly creep onto their faces, you can feel the weariness in their stares. All that any of you wanted was to get home and live a normal life for a while. There were never any delusions about forgetting what you’d been through, but you all hoped that maybe you could start to move on. You tell them to get some rest and earn honest smiles as a reward. As your follow your friends up the stairs, you decide that no matter what happens, you’re going to get everyone through this. You owe them that much.

Sleep isn’t easy to come by that night. Dave passed out on the floor almost instantly, not even bothering to change into pajamas. You glare at his sleeping form enviously as you struggle to put your mind to rest. Eventually you begin to fade in and out of a half-sleeping daze. From that strange state you can just barely make out the clock as it changes. Midnight, two, three-thirty, all of the numbers are just counting up to the hours when it’s acceptable to be awake. At some point between three-thirty and four a figure appears in your doorway. Sitting up, you shake the haze off and focus. His nubby horns are unmistakable. Stepping carefully over Dave, he makes his way to your bed. By the time he reaches you, you’re already holding the blanket up so that he can climb under.

“Nightmare?” you ask, hardly even whispering.

He only nods and buries his tear-stained face in your chest. You pull him into your arms and silently repeat an assurance to yourself. This is only for Karkat, he needs someone right now and he chose to come to you. It’s only to help him with the nightmares. It helps you with them too. The nearly empty assurances lull you to sleep and you are dead to the world in a matter of minutes. Had you stayed awake, however, you would have seen the ruby red eyes watching you from the floor.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should have been studying for my finals, but I finally broke my block and before I knew it I had a chapter. It's been over a month, so I thought I'd get this up. We're finally to some actually plot!
> 
> I also wanted to thank you all for being so patient with me for these 10 chapters. Also thank you so much for all of the amazing kudos and comments, you guys are amazing and I love you all!
> 
> Beta'd by Julia the Spooky Ghost this time!

Early morning sunlight streaks through your window, forcing you back into the waking world. You slowly pry your eyes open and are glad to find that you aren’t going to go blind from the sun. It’s all thanks to the thick head of hair that is shielding you and a lazy smile finds its way onto your face. Even in the short amount of time that you’ve all been together you’ve learned that, while talkative online, Karkat tends to try and stay silent in real life. Regardless of how involved - or not involved - he is, his face is pretty much always contorted into an angry glare so that everyone knows to behave. Karkat Vantas is a far cry from a picture of tranquility, but while he’s sleeping he looks almost... well, the first word that you can call to mind is peaceful. The footsteps thundering through the halls are anything but that. Seriously don’t they know how to let people sleep? With a soft groan of annoyance, you curl back around Karkat and try to drift off again. Try.

“Get up,” Dave demands loudly, slamming the door open.

Both you and Karkat jump as the door crashes into the wall, probably smashing a sizable hole in it. Karkat topples off of the bed with a surprised yelp and Dave glares down at him, but you quickly feel his eyes dart back to you.

“Seems like those of us with sleep schedules that are fucked to hell and back got the jump on things this time, but you need to get up because you’re the leader here and the masses are gathering,” Dave says, walking over and dragging you out of bed.

“What do you mean ‘the masses are gathering,’ what masses?” you ask as he continues to pull you out of the room.

Dave doesn’t answer, he just keeps a firm grip on your wrist and speeds down the stairs with a slightly panicked sense of urgency. Karkat scrambles down the stairs behind you and as you turn the corner you catch a glimpse of his face. It reflects the same terror that you feel welling up inside of your chest. You join the others in the living room and Dave turns to face you all.

“I’m going to make this simple because I know best that it’s too complicated to bother with. Time is a fucking unstable shitty concept,” Dave informs you all with a grim sense of annoyance. “One month could have meant a few hundred years or a couple of hours. It happened to mean a couple of hours because, as always, the multiverse just can’t give us a break.”

A frightened murmur spreads through the crowd, but nobody understands anything more than they did a few minutes ago. Dave tips his head back and stares at the ceiling, struggling for words. The leadership of the meteor crew might have been pushed onto him, but you realize just how unsuited he is for the job as he runs his hands through his hair. Finally Jade, who seems to have been the other early riser, switches the TV on and turns it to the nearest news station.

“There’s still no word on the sudden appearance of what many are calling UFOs, but more of them continue to pour into the skies. The largest ship seems to be in motion still and is headed toward the Northern coast of the Pacific Ocean,” the reporter tells the camera, somehow remaining calm as strange ships float overhead.

Once the woman is finished speaking, the screen switches to show live video of one of the ships and a stunned horror fills the room. The enormous red ship with countless prongs appears on the screen and you know in an instant exactly who the ship carries.

“There’s people outside waiting for directions from their gods,” Jade says softly, all of the power drained from her voice and leaving her sounding way too small to be Jade.

“You’re the friendleader here, John, but we won’t make you do this if you don’t want to,” Rose tells you with a smile that you assume is supposed to be comforting.

Looking around the room, you see how everyone has shrunk down to mere cores. Smiles are uneasy and fake, fear rests in their eyes, and the whole group is doing their best to shrink into tiny perfectly generic objects. Just an image did this to them and you have to figure out a way to get them to fight. You can’t help but take a deep, heavy breath.

“Nobody is making you do this, John,” Dave reminds you softly, placing a hand gently on your shoulder.

The first thing that you want to do is snap at him, tell him that they can say that until time ends and it will never be the true. That everyone knows that you’re going to have to go out there and if you don’t then everyone’s going to huddle in a terrified little glob while the Condesce plows the population into the dust. After the initial urge to scream wears off, you just want him to hold you while you sob. Of course that would only make everyone panic even more, so you hold your tears back as you hug him. He holds you tightly and whispers that things are going to turn out fine somehow. When you pull away, you have a plan. You can to do this.

“Where’s the god tier outfits?” you ask, stepping back to look at the group.

“They’re in the drier right now, I believe,” Rose informs you.

“Good. Rose, go get them. I need humans to be in their outfits. Kanaya, go with her and grab any clothes that belong to a troll that aren’t god tier outfits,” you command firmly and they nod, rushing off to the utility room.

You turn to the trolls and some of them begin to protest about not being allowed to wear their god tier outfits. Without hesitating, you cut them off.

“I’m not telling you guys that you aren’t worth your god tier ranks, but this isn’t about ranks. It’s all about looks right now and I need you to dress in your clothes from the game.”

None of them argue and the girls return quickly with armfuls of fabric. Clothes are quickly passed out and everyone begins to strip down, placing the rush of the situation over personal comfort. The blinds are drawn, so nobody on the outside will know and nobody on the inside cares.

“Everyone needs to neaten up their hair and stand up straight now. We’re obviously all scared, if you say you aren’t you’re lying. Our job right now is to look like we’re confident and to make everyone feel safe,” you inform everyone, taking a breath as you pull your shirt over your head. “Best weapons out, but keep it relaxed. We’re not trying to make them think that we’re going to jump on them, we’re showing them that we’re watching the skies. Anyone who has a computer headset should have that on too and communicate using vocal commands. People want to know that we’re watching out for them, so we’re going to let them know.”

You break for another breath while you pull your hood over your head and pull on your bright yellow shoes. The group looks a lot more confident and ready now. Some of them nod in confirmation as they pull on various outfit parts, others are equipping their headsets and pulling out their weapons. It makes you feel proud and you smile as you switch to your serious business goggles.

“If you can’t fly, patrol from the ground. Keep me updated on the situation down there and tell me if you see anyone suspicious,” you direct and get a smile and a nod from Karkat. “If you can fly, just hover a bit. Keep a bird’s eye view.”

“Anything you need us to do?” you hear from behind you and whip around.

On the stairs you see the guardians and David. Your dad is in his suit, Dave’s brother has a new white shirt, and Rose’s mom has her white dress and pink scarf. David smiles down at you and you smile back up at your friend. He’s closer than Dave in some ways and his support means the world to you.

“You guys are grounded, so I want you down with the ground people. Weapons out, same deal,” you tell them and they confirm your directions with curt nods as they walk down the stairs to join your group.

“I think that I should be an exception to that rule,” David announces with a smirk, partially opening orange feathered wings. “It seems that the universe decided that I could keep them.”

“Oh wow, they’re amazing!” you exclaim, reaching forward to touch his new 100% non-ghost wings. “You’re definitely on the skies, iShades and sword out. I want you doing fly-overs, keep an eye out for anything weird.”

“What are you going to be doing?” Karkat asks, drawing your attention back to that side of the room.

You give him a wide smile and find yourself filled with hope. The Condesce won’t win this, you will. As a team, all of you will defeat her. Earth will forever be known as the planet that said no, the ones that put up a fight. All that you have to do is get the world to fight with you.

“I, my friends, will be making us an army,” you announce confidently. “So let’s go put on a show!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I might be out for a little while, I'm moving soon and the computer will be disconnected for a little while. As soon as it's working I'll start writing again!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this took so long. Priya's been being a bad aunt and keeping my fics out past their bedtimes. Also I moved right in the middle of writing it. I'm at the new house now! Thank you guys so much for all of the kudos and comments, I just love you all and thank you thank you thank you!!!
> 
> Beta'd by Julia and Aerielle!

It feels like it’s been a long time since you’ve seen everyone work together like this. Now that you think about it, it’s really only been a few days since you were preparing for a different battle. Not everyone got along, even at the best of times. Especially at the best of times. The only instance where the arguing halted and gave way to teamwork was when Jack had finally caught up with you. That’s a moment that you don’t want to think about much more.

Stepping outside is almost mystical. The sunlight glares against your face and you shield your eyes, but your ears burn as well from the explosion of screaming and shouting. It takes a moment before you are able to make out some of what is being said.

“You monsters.”

“How could you let them come?”

“What have you done?”

That is the opposite of what you wanted. You’ll have to fix that.

With a nod you send everyone off to their positions. They give nervous smiles and whip out their weapons. After a quick return smile, you harden yourself. Time to put on a show. David takes off, his flight looking just as magnificent as you remember. Your friends float a bit, reporting clear skies out loud despite their lack of microphones. The reports show up on your screen, but are shortened down to one word.

Clear.

You throw in a quick confirmation and walk towards the podium that has been set up for you. The chanting grows louder and you can hear a faint cheering break through it. You give a half smile and rise into the air, pulling the microphone cords with you. News people stare with wide eyes for a moment before extending the cords as quickly as they can. It’s time to get serious.

“Everyone, I’m here to confirm the news reports. Those unidentified flying objects are in fact alien ships. Alternian ships belonging to a race called the Trolls. They come from a different universe and they do not come in peace. Their goal is a complete takeover of Earth,” frightened murmurs echo around you and people below start wailing in dismay. New messages appear on your screen.

TG: people are flipping their shit down here  
TT: The skies are clear, but the people are panicking.  
CG: WHAT THE FUCK ARE THESE PEOPLE DOING THEY’RE CRYING AND SCREAMING AND HUGGING EACH OTHER MAKE THEM STOP NOBODY IS GOING FIGHT HER IMPERIAL BITCHNESS LIKE THIS.  
TG: uh john  
TG: bad wording maybe

You sigh and reply.

EB: i’m working on it.  
EB: just stick with me.  
EB: heads up fliers, expect some wind.

“Stop!” you cry out, summoning a breeze to run over them. “Why are you crying? What is sobbing your eyes out going to get done?”

The whole crowd goes silent and stares up at you in shock. Woah, holy shit, he can yell. Maybe the God will actually do something to us.

“No, the Trolls have never before been beaten. No, we do not have proper weapons. I’ll tell you what we do have,” you pause to look over the crowd of teary-eyed civilians. Desperate times call for desperate measures, you suppose.

“We have six of their kind on our side. These six have saved all of your lives once. They are your real Gods, they created our universe and then continued to work to help us restore it. I’ve seen what is written about them in the tome. My friends are not demons who mean to destroy this world; they cannot be held responsible for the actions of their species as a whole! They know a fair amount about the armada and they will help us.”

CG: YOU'RE TOO KIND.  
EB: i mean every word. :B

“We need an army,” you tell them bluntly. “I speak to all of the nations right now. Gather your armies, bring them together. Put aside hatred and work as a single army. Wait for our orders. Hide your red buttons. Nuclear weapons are not a good idea, they would destroy both species. Arm yourselves for combat, gather, and wait. Every single person enrolled any branch of the military is needed. We call on you to serve your world!”

All over the world, leaders are scrambling to call their armies together. From your position you can see many people run out.

“I expect that the crowd will make way for those who need to leave,” you say and the mass of people begin to push into lawns and against houses to make a lane for cars.

“The armies will not be enough,” you inform the rest of the civilians. “We need more forces. You cannot stand by as your world goes into war. Welcome to intergalactic war, there is no homefront like there was. The war will not feel disconnected. It’s headed right for us and we will feel the full pain of it. I need even the civilians to take arms.”

Voices of shock and terror cry out, questioning you and telling you that you’re wrong. Think of the casualties. We’re all going to die. You silence them with a gust of wind.

“Never before has the Alternian armada been defeated. Never before has a planet known in advance. Never before has a planet had not one, but six Trolls on their side,” you glance to the trolls and catch Karkat’s eye. “Never before has an entire planet fought back. Earth be the first because Earth is ready for them. I beg you all to take up arms! Stand with us, fight with us, and win with us!”

The crowd bursts into cheering and you watch over them with a confident feeling welling up inside of you.

TT: Kids.

Rose is helpful as always, reminding you to stay on track.

“Please deliver your children to a safe house. Bring them collectively to one spot and let a few adults stay there with them to keep them safe and calm,” you tell the crowd and hear a faint relieved sigh from parents.

TT: Thank you.

“We will win this, I know that we can. Humans have fought through so much already and we can fight through this too. Now go, arm yourselves, and be ready. They are coming for a fight and we’ll give them the biggest that they’ve ever seen!”

Cheering begins again and a torrent of messages follows.

TG: wow that was awesome youre like the president or something  
TG: holy shit man  
TT: That was very inspiring, John.  
CG: I GET WHY YOU’RE THE LEADER HERE, I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYONE DO THAT BEFORE.  
CG: EVER.  
CG: I MEAN FUCK.  
CG: WOW.  
TA: okay even ii have tw0 admiit that wa2 pretty co0l.  
AA: that was amazing john!!!  
GA: Very Nice Job John I Believe That You Have Moved Both Your Team And The Crowd  
TC: OkAy tHaT WaS PrEtTy mOtHeRfUcKiNg cOoL  
GC: WOW M1ST3R BLU3B3RRY SCOR3S 4 D1R3CT H1T! TH3 COND3SC3 1S GO1NG DOWN! >:]

You settle yourself onto the ground and carefully guide the wind to place the microphones back on the stand. The crowd is shuffling off to arm themselves and you give a bright-eyed smile before walking back into your house. While you were up in the air nobody noticed, you’re sure of that, but you’re shaking. All that you can do is stumble to the couch and curl up against it.

“John?” Someone’s voice appears next to you, but you curl into the couch.

Coarse hands pull your glasses off, setting them on the table. You see Karkat sit softly next to you and lean into his embrace, hypocritical tears spilling from your eyes and onto his symbol.

“Fuck,” he mutters and pulls you onto his lap, rubbing your back carefully with clawed fingers.

“John? Are you okay?” Dave asks, his voice betraying his worry.

Karkat’s grip tightens around you and you shudder, letting him pull you closer. He softly murmurs comforting words in your ear, or at least you think they’re words. You aren’t listening to them anyway and you don’t think you’re supposed to, they’re just something calming to hear. He pauses for a moment and you feel him shift to look up.

“I think he’ll be fine, I don’t know who wouldn’t be overwhelmed right now. Just give him some time,” Karkat instructs and lifts a hand, probably shooing people away. “That includes you, Strider.”

“He’s my best friend,” Dave snaps back and you hear a thud as he sits heavily on the floor.

“He’s my best friend too and he’s overwhelmed right now. Leave,” you can feel a growl in his chest on the last word and another uncontrollable shudder passes through you.

Dave stares for a moment longer before getting up and walking toward the basement. You wonder vaguely if he’s mad at Karkat for some reason, but the thought disappears when Karkat tightens his grip.

“John, things are going to turn out fine. You’re not alone in this,” he reminds you, still stroking your back gently.

“I can’t lead all these people, Karkat,” you look up to meet his eyes. “I can’t do it alone.”

“You don’t have to,” he says, resting his forehead on yours. “If you want me to help you just say the word.”

That’s where you kiss him. It’s not a conscious decision, you just do it. His lips are softer than you would have imagined, but still rough. He jerks back in shock, but before you can even register the motion he’s kissing you back. It’s an awkward kiss and neither of you are quite sure how to make it work yet. You part for a moment and you stare at eachother, unsure of what it meant. You twist your body so that you’re straddling him and raise a hand to his face, but he’s the one who leans in to kiss you again.

It’s then that Dave walks in.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that this is so short! I was going to continue it, but it ended well there. To make up for it, I filled it with fluffy sludge stuff. I hope you guys like it! Beta'd be Nadiya this time! Also, thank you all again for all of the feedback! Every kudo and every comment just completely makes my day! You guys are amazing and without all of you, there wouldn't be a fic here. <3

Your name is John Egbert and you’re too busy snogging the hell out of your best troll friend to notice that your best non-troll friend has walked in. Karkat moves a hand to your hair, claws tapping against your skull and making you shiver, and you raise your other hand to his face. At that, Dave decides to make his presence known.

“What the fuck?” he asks, startling you both. “Seriously John, we have a lot more important things to do right now than reconsider our sexualities.”

You can feel your face growing hot. When you kissed Karkat you weren’t really thinking, let alone thinking about whether or not it was a good time for this. Now you’re remembering just how bad of a time it is. You can feel Dave’s glare through his shades.

“Come on, Egbert, you’re supposed to be doing shit,” Dave tells you, motioning toward the kitchen.

Karkat shifts, staring up at you with panic flaring in his wide eyes. Without a hint of regret, you wish silently that Dave had stayed in the kitchen. After a moment, you stand up and stare awkwardly down at your yellow shoes. They’re too cheerful for the situation. Karkat pulls himself up, but you notice he doesn’t lower his head.

“If you two are so interested in spending time with each other, do something productive,” Dave says with an obvious frown and a wave of shame washes over you. “Before you ask, no. Tongue-fucking each other’s mouths does not count as productive.”

That’s all that you can take. Before he can say another word, you’re halfway up the stairs.

“Oh fine, run away. That’s very leader-like of you,” Dave yells after you.

You can’t listen to this anymore. In fact, your best friend getting angry at you is the last thing you need. Even if he is telling the truth, which he is. Once you reach your room, you lock the door and pull your hood over your eyes. There isn’t a chance that you’re going to sleep, but the feel of the fabric is comforting. Sort of.

Your name is Karkat Vantas and you know he’s crying. That isn’t something that is at all okay with you. Right now you have no idea what John got out of that, but you’re pretty sure that you just got a shot of flushed feelings right into your mutated bloodstream. Strider’s fucking with the pitiful idiot you’re flushed for. This isn’t going to work with you.

“Strider, what the fuck was that for?” you ask, pointing up the stairs.

“It isn’t my problem he can’t take a fucking reality check, Vantas,” he spits.

With a roll of your eyes and an instinctive noise of disgust, you turn to follow John. You can’t leave him alone at a time like this. He needs someone right now. Strider seems to have a different idea, grabbing your wrist and tugging you back roughly.

“Don’t even think of following him,” he tells you, stepping to block the way. “If he wants to go brood and mope like a fucking preteen girl that’s his problem.”

“Where did you get it crammed into your shallow as fuck thinkpan that it’s your right to make everyone feel like they’re composed solely of rotting shit?” you explode, staring at him incredulously. “I thought that you and John were ‘bros’ or some shit, shouldn’t you be leaping in front of a bus to help him if he needs it? Speaking of needing it, can’t you see how badly he does?”

“No, all I see is a pitiful mess of someone who is struggling to successfully lead the world to its first intergalactic war while he gets distracted by his hormones,” Strider replies with disgust, though you aren’t sure who it’s aimed at.

“Exactly, he’s absolutely and utterly painfully pitiful” you say coldly, glaring at him through his dark lenses.

Ripping your wrist from his grip, you push past him and start up the stairs. For once, Strider is actually right about something. Part of it, at least. When you reach John’s door, you knock lightly. Getting no response, you try the knob. The door is locked, but you can hear him crying inside. 

“John, open the door,” you ask. “It’s me, Karkat.”

“Go away,” he demands, his voice stuffy and tearful.

“Please, just let me in,” you beg feebly.

After a moment, you hear shuffling and the doorknob clicks. You pause for a second before stepping in. The lights are off and your vision automatically adjusts to the night-like lighting. In fact, it thanks you for it. Earth’s sun, while not as bright as Alternia’s, is still too bright for your liking. Your ears twitch as you hear a rustle from the corner as he settles back into place, followed by a muffled sniffle.

“John,” you begin.

“I’m a bad leader,” he snaps and trails into a sob.

“You’re not, you were just-”

You aren’t even able to finish your sentence before he tells you to shut up.

“Dave was right, I’m not even being serious here. I got inside and just quit, but I can’t do that! Everyone’s counting on me, so I need to stand up and deal with it!” he opens his mouth to continue, but a sob comes out instead.

Making your way through his room, the room you’ve stared at for years and know by heart, you crouch in front of him. He glares up at you, daring you to come closer. You do. It isn’t a heated kiss. Your lips barely brush against his, but you both know that it happened. He mutters out something that sounds like “I’m sorry” and you press your lips more firmly on his.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for, Strider’s being a fucking assface,” you tell him bluntly, sitting and pulling him into a hug.

“He’s still right,” John says, wrapping his arms around your waist.

“I don’t think so,” you begin. “No leader is expected to be strong all the time. Nobody can manage that, everyone has a point where they need to sit down. You never gave up, you just gave yourself a break. If you destroy yourself through your determination to never stop moving, what good are you to anyone?”

He hasn’t said anything, but you feel him relax in your arms. Something that you’re saying is finally getting to him. It startles you a bit when he nuzzles into your shoulder, but you just run a hand through his hair.

“I shouldn’t have kissed you, you don’t need it on your mind right now,” he mutters.

“It’s been on my mind, whether I realized it or not,” you admit. “We can deal with it later. I’m here if you need me, okay?”

He nods into your shoulder and lets out a calm breath. You have a feeling that Strider won’t be happy when you go downstairs. In fact, you’re hoping that he’ll be even worse than before so that you can jam his nose up into his brain. That would be satisfying. Still, you think John wouldn’t appreciate that. It doesn’t change the fact that you need to go downstairs.

“They’re waiting, I think. Are you ready to go down?” you ask softly.

“Yeah,” he replies after a moment of hesitation.

You stand and pull John to his feet, squeezing his hand before leading him through the mounds of laundry and out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, and if any of you are waiting for the porn, there won't be any. Sorry, but I don't write that. If someone feels really strongly that there needs to be some porn in here, feel free to write an insert chapter yourself! If you tell me about it, I'll add a link to it! I'm not going to be writing any, though.


	13. Chapter 13

The house seems almost eerie, much like it did on stormy nights back in your early childhood. The light lands on the floor in lines, shining through the blinds persistently. Part of you thinks for a moment that this has to all be a dream. You’ll walk into the kitchen and be assaulted with yet another stack of cakes. After a moment of father-son strife, your dad will give you a tight hug while you tell him all about your terrifying nightmare. A pressure in your hand brings you back to reality. Without realizing it, you’d stopped at the entrance to the kitchen.

“Come on, John. You can’t avoid it forever,” Karkat speaks softly, more gentle than he ever was in the game.

You nod wordlessly and walk through the empty kitchen and into the utility room. The doors to the basement are open already. Karkat starts down ahead of you, letting go of your hand so that you can turn around to close the doors behind you. The stairs creak, warped from the constant dampness in the basement, and everyone knows that you’re coming long before you look over to them.

“About time,” Dave mutters from the corner, earning a cold glare from Karkat.

Everyone else stares back at you without judgement. Nobody really cares if you don’t count Dave. You count Dave. Somewhere in your chest a pain blossoms at the hateful look he’s giving you.

“She’ll be here in a few hours,” David announces, tapping Sollux on the shoulder. “According to his calculations, at least.”

“That means that the first forces will be here any moment now,” Sollux adds. “They’ll make contact first and try to keep things smooth. If they can’t, they’ll squash whatever rebellion there is. By the time she gets here there won’t be anything left.”

“That’s not going to work,” you think out loud.

“Obviously,” Rose says, but there’s no snarky tone in her voice this time. “So what do we do?”

“I’m not good with battle plans. Back in Sburb the trolls gave me all of my clues about how things go. I guess I’ll have to stick to that,” you admit, looking around at them. “What do you know about how trolls fight?”

“It’s usually a tag team fight,” Terezi tells you.

“The idea is that the pairs are created in a way that would be stronger than one person. If someone usually uses calculated moves they would be paired with someone who doesn’t usually think before attacking,” Aradia adds. “Do you understand?”

“I think so. It would also be pairs that won’t get into fights with each other while they’re fighting, right?”

The trolls nod in confirmation and you begin to eye the room. It wouldn’t be hard at all to stick everyone into pairs. They seem to have naturally gravitated to the person that would match them. You’ll explain your thoughts on pairing up in a minute, but you’re not quite finished gathering information.

“What do you use to fight?” you ask.

“The same as you, we use our strife specibus,” Karkat answers from next to you.

“We also use powers if we have them,” Sollux adds, but you can only offer a confused expression in return. “Most of my blood color have psionic powers, a lot of Vriska’s blood color have mind control powers, Tavros’s blood color can usually control or speak to animals, and stuff like that.”

“That’s going to be a bit of a challenge, but I think that we can deal with it,” you tell them.

“How are we going to know when they’ve landed?” Jade asks, looking to the nearest troll.

Outside there’s a faint grinding noise. It grows louder steadily until you all have to cover your ears to avoid the pain. After a moment the metallic screeching cuts off with a large bang that shakes the house.

“You’ll know,” Terezi replies with a nervous grin.

Everyone’s at their feet immediately. You ascend the stairs quickly, pushing the door open and moving from the utility room into the kitchen. As you move from the kitchen to the living room, you pull your hood up. There’s no battle plan yet, so you’re going to have to think on the fly.

“Weapons out,” you shout back.

The Zillyhoo hammer’s familiar weight appears in your hands. Adrenaline courses through your veins and it urges you to dash out to confront the danger. Instead you force yourself to pause and look behind you. Everyone looks battle ready, even your dad. It sparks worry in your heart, but you know that you’re also being protective of your friends.

“Be careful and don’t attack unless you have to,” you tell them.

After watching them all nod in understanding, you push the front door open. The ship is truly otherworldly. There’s curved points in the shape of a prong and the whole thing is an alarming red. Even from here, you can spot people in their windows staring out in horror.

“Let’s do this,” you call back, pushing yourself as much as them.

David creates a small wind as he spreads his wings and takes off, startling almost everyone. Most of them aren’t quite used to a winged older Dave yet. Those who can begin to float slightly, moving to the sides. The rest of them spread out behind you, keeping their eyes on the ship. Without being asked to, everyone has equipped their headsets. They’ve all entered the memo that you used to use once you all met back up, but nobody has sent any messages yet.

Just as you’re about to move closer, a hatch begins to open in the ship. There’s roughly six figures inside that begin to step forward. Your friends raise their weapons, prepared to defend themselves. Terezi is the first to falter, letting out a strangled yelp and staring sightlessly in front of her with a startled expression. Gamzee is the second, lowering his weapons and muttering something with a confused look.

“I think those are our friends,” Karkat says from behind you, catching you by surprise and making you jump. “But they all died.”

“So did our guardians,” you reason.

EB: you guys can relax a bit, i think it’s the rest of the nice trolls.

Terezi does one more than that. She simply drops her cane and runs toward the ship. A girl in an orange hero of light god tier catches her embrace. Gamzee follows, hugging a boy with huge horns. Sollux’s face pulls into a tight smile and he waves up at the new trolls, getting a wave back from a long haired girl. The new group moves forward, putting their weapons away. You follow suit and watch the trolls greet each other.

After a moment of hugging the other boy, Gamzee moves off to the side. It’s a sad sight for some reason. He’s extremely tall, towering over the tallest of the newcomers by a few inches, and is already gaining some bulk that you assume comes with maturity. Despite his frightening appearance, he almost looks like a kicked puppy right now. You recall Karkat talking about a murder spree and how he had to calm Gamzee down. It makes sense that he’d be on the sidelines, you guess. A small girl moves up to him carefully, flinching as he shifts, but she eventually darts forward to give him a hug. He hugs her back delicately and multiple of the other trolls follow her lead.

Sollux walks up to the long haired girl and she gives him a quick hug, but she pulls back to stand by a boy with a scarf. He and Sollux speak for a moment before sharing a timid handshake. The long hair girl pushes them into a hug and you see David stifle his laughter from a few feet away. Karkat steps up next to you and mutters something about the greeting being oddly peaceful.

“John?” you hear and look around for the source.

The girl that hugged Terezi steps up with a nervous smile. You look her over and think about the trolls that you know, but haven’t met. That leaves only one option.

“Vriska?” you ask cautiously and get a more confident smile in return.

“You do remember me!” she says cheerfully, pulling you into a hug.

“Of course!” you reply.

She releases you after a moment and turns to Karkat. Both of their faces fall slightly. He looks her over, unsure of quite how to react. You get the feeling that they didn’t get along very well before. Vriska always seemed a little rebellious. Hopefully they won’t fight this time around.

“Well it’s nice to see you again,” she says, lifting a corner of her mouth into a sort of half smile.

“I hope that I can say the same,” he replies almost coldly.

“We’re under your command still. This time we’ll actually listen, too,” she tells him.

“You’re in one of her ships,” he points out.

“That’s where we woke up, with her. At least we’re the only greeting crew that’s coming this way. She figured that we would pick you all up and be able to crush the rebellion ourselves,” Vriska tells him, a mischievous grin replacing her half smile.

“Mind control on the Condesce. I have to admit, you’ve got skill,” Karkat admits, raising an eyebrow.

“You’ve got just about two hours. What do you want us to do, mister fearless leader?” she asks.

Everyone has gathered around the three of you and started to listen intently. The humans cast wary looks, wondering if the trolls will take charge now that there’s so many of them. Karkat simply shakes his head and laces his fingers with yours.

“Egbert’s in charge here,” he informs the new trolls. “So technically you’re under his command.”

“That sounds good to me,” Vriska says with a shrug.

“John, do you know who anyone else is?” Karkat asks you.

“Not really,” you admit, looking at the new group.

“The one with enormous horns and metal legs is Tavros. The tiny one is Nepeta and her sweaty bodyguard is Equius. Feferi is the pretty one with gills. Next to her is Eridan,” he rushes through and you try to commit their names to memory.

You remember hearing stories about these trolls. They all died fighting, but not necessarily the enemy. There was a revenge thing going on, Gamzee’s rampage, and Eridan’s flip out. What’s in the past is in the past, but you want to make sure that they’re on the same page.

“I remember hearing about a lot of fighting. Is that all taken care of?” you ask them, trying not to sound judgemental.

The trolls all confirm that everything is fine now. Feferi kisses Eridan on the cheek, Eridan blushes, and everyone laughs. You motion for everyone to come back inside and they do quickly. Despite the joyful reunion, nobody has forgotten about the impending battle. It’s time to get serious. If you don’t do it now, you won’t have the chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah they weren't supposed to show up in this fic. I don't really know why they did. They didn't want to be left out, I guess. As far as I know, the alpha kids won't be showing up anytime soon.
> 
> I'm considering making an 8tracks playlist thingy for the songs that I listen to while writing this. Would anyone be interested in listening to it?


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way too long, life and a nasty block got in the way. It's finished now and beta'd by Nadiya. She's a lifesaver and so are all of you. Thank you for waiting so long for this.
> 
> Back at the end of the last chapter I mentioned a mix! Here's the link to it: http://8tracks.com/thecolorofstars/rewind-please-1-13

The basement is definitely more crowded now, but there’s a light in everyone’s eyes that you’ve never seen before. An undertone of excitement seems to buzz within the group. A dim chatter fills the concrete room and brings a smile to your lips. Everyone sounds full of hope now; maybe they’ll be able to carry that into the fight. You wave your hand uncertainly, if not a little awkwardly, and slowly the heads turn to you.

“We need to decide what to do,” you announce, smile firmly in place. “If anyone has an idea, just shout it out and we can figure out how to move from there.”

Perhaps not, you think as you watch everyone glance around. There’s no confidence in their eyes now and the light from before is fading fast. Just when you’re about to start asking dumb questions to poke at their brains - questions that would most likely accomplish nothing but making you look like an idiot - heavy footsteps sound on the stairs. Of course, by heavy you mean manly and by manly you mean your dad’s. He’s followed by the other adults and they’re all carrying plates of sandwiches. You barely manage to grab one before the new trolls simply fall on the plate.

After they’ve managed to stuff about half of the sandwiches down their respective throats, they notice the stares they’re receiving. The question here is clear, but all of them seem more keen to swallow their lumps and continue more slowly than to answer it. Karkat helps you out by ever so elegantly making the thought vocal.

“What the fuck?”

See? Elegant. Again, nobody steps forward to answer. Before you can let it go, a diminutive troll with horns that are in no way themselves diminutive lifts his head.

“Uh,” he begins, still shifting his eyes around. “Well, here’s the thing. Nobody on the ships gets to eat much.”

Murmurs of solemn agreement raise a few eyebrows in the room.

“She doesn’t have enough room for food for all the troops,” the even tinier girl blurts.

“The Condesce brought waaaaaaaay too many this time around,” Vriska comments.

“Yes, too many people and not nearly enough ships,” the fish troll Harry Potter guy confirms.

“Not enough food, either,” adds the fish troll girl next to him.

“Excuse me, but I believe I might have a suitable plan,” the huge guy next to the tiny girl - Nepeta - breaks in.

“Shoot,” you reply, excited to finally have someone volunteering information.

“There is not nearly enough loyalty to the Condesce on the ships. If we could perhaps transfer their allegiance, we might be able to create our own army,” he suggests.

“That’s a great idea,” you respond with a big grin. “If you guys go back and keep her under the impression that you crushed us with no problem, but tell her that one of us might have escaped, she’ll still focus everything here. Then just gather a secret army and we’ll win easily!”

“She expects them to bring us back,” Sollux reminds you.

“Just allow her to believe that we are traitors,” Kanaya tells him with a dainty shrug.

“I’ve got no issues with it. I’d rather follow John than her anyway,” Terezi admits.

“Definitely, that sounds like a plan to me,” Karkat finishes, turning to you. “So, is that settled?”

You take a look around before answering him. It isn’t your ideal solution to send the six of them back into nasty conditions and danger, but this is your surest chance at victory. If you can’t match their size, at least shrink it a bit. Of course, that’s not all there is to think about.

“It’s a done deal, but I’m going to need to talk to someone on the inside a lot,” you inform them.

This is where you’re going to test how much they’ve matured. They need to trust each other if they’re going to be the base of this army. You can’t have them bringing the past into this. It takes you a moment to remember the name that you’re looking for.

“I’ll just need a progress report every night and updates on any big events. Eridan, do you think you could do that for me?”

Mouths open to protest, but Karkat silences them with one stern glare. Eridan gives you a slightly startled nod, but a small smile returns to his lips. You’re not quite done yet.

“Gamzee, I want you to help me out as well. Go around the neighborhood with another troll and check on everyone. Make sure that everyone is calm and okay, tell them to keep an eye out and give them your chumhandle. Make sure that they can tell you if they see ships.”

Nobody speaks this time, their jaws just all drop. Even your group is staring at you in disbelief. Well, except for Dave. His head is buried in his hands.

“Trust me,” you insist. “Now lets get going, it’s time to do this thing!”

The room springs into action, the excitement and chatter returning as everyone rushes the stairs. Even with the full group trying to ascend simultaneously, everyone managed to reach the top without any significant injuries. Just as you’re about to charge after everyone else, Karkat grabs your elbow and pulls you back to the ground.

“You know what you just did, right?” he asks, worry clear in his eyes and voice.

“I just tried to bridge a gap,” you explain with a smile. “They need a chance to prove that they aren’t what they did in the game.”

It takes a moment, but a smile appears on Karkat’s lips and he pulls you by your arm into a tight hug. You laugh and squeeze him back, letting yourself be excited for just a moment. Soon you’re going to have to face dark things and you’ve got a feeling that when the shit hits the fan it’s going to get messy. For now you’re happy just to be happy. Of course, a certain grumpy Strider decides to tap you on the shoulder.

“Reminder, the rest of the world exists,” he snaps and storms off, leaving you to sigh and Karkat to snarl.

You follow Dave to the others, now much less peppy, but still managing a smile when Karkat’s fingers thread between yours. By the time you step outside, the new trolls are already boarding the ship again. Karkat pulls you to join the others in waving goodbye, but once they’re out of sight the cheerful mob sags and looks to you.

“Uh,” you mutter, looking around at them and trying to figure out what comes next. “Well, I guess you should get on that, Gamzee. Who is going with you?”

Aradia steps forward and waves, grinning widely. Good, she’s nice and cheerful. Hopefully people won’t be too afraid of them, but it’s a risk you’re going to have to take. They take off quickly towards the first house and you turn back to your own group. Sending that pair off on their mission hasn’t actually solved the problem of which action to take, but there isn’t anything else to do right now.

“Alright, let’s head back inside. We all need to eat something for real and rest so that we’ll be ready whenever they come back.”

The decision is well received; everyone still has their mind on the food that was in the basement. You’re greeted with more sandwiches, the smell of soup, and an announcement that said soup will be ready in a half hour. Back when you got sick as a little kid, your dad used to make different soups in mass amounts from scratch. It tasted a million times better than the Campbell’s stuff you’re eating now, but everything tastes better than alchemized food.

It’s right in the middle of this that Karkat plops down next to you. He’s tired, you can see it in the way he sags, but he still manages to faintly return your smile. Gamzee and Aradia return in time to catch the soup while it’s warm. They promise to go out after dinner to check on more people. For a while, the whole room is content to sit and eat. That doesn’t last forever, of course, but the feeling of peace follows everyone as they scatter around the house. Gamzee and Aradia leave again with genuine smiles on their faces.

Eventually the only three people that remain in the living room are you, Karkat, and Dave. Karkat tips his head to the side and rests it on your shoulder. When you look down at him, you realize that he’s closed his eyes as well. That’s definitely the right idea, you’re downright exhausted, but you’re not going to go to bed before everyone else does. Instead, you settle for resting your head on Karkat’s and letting your eyes slide closed for a moment.

“Are you kidding me?” you hear from your left and open your eyes with a sigh.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” you reply, lifting your head slowly to look over at Dave.

“Oh, I’m sure you’re completely oblivious,” he replies with thick sarcasm.

“Really, I don’t know.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Pathetic.”

You blink in surprise, trying to figure out what he means. A dreadful shiver slides up your spine and the peaceful feeling evaporates from the room, leaving an uncertain worry behind. Silence stretches between the two of you, a pure mockery of the fast-paced conversations you used to have.

“You really don’t know,” he comments at last, his voice now more incredulous than insulting.

“No, I really don’t,” you confirm helplessly.

Dave locks his jaw. You don’t know if that means that he’s done talking, or if he’s simply trying to decide what to say. Despite years and years of friendship you can't read your friend's body language. If he were typing you could tell within a word how he was feeling, but you're lost face to face. When you feel Karkat’s hand brush yours, you shiver again. He doesn’t open his eyes or move his head, but he tenses at your response and threads his fingers between your own. Dave breaks the silence like his record.

“That,” he hisses. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

He snorts at your confused look.

“You just run all over with your pretty little boyfriend, all happy and smiley and shit, but you aren’t even looking at the fucking situation.”

“Dave, I think you’re overreacting,” you say, a glare now locked on him.

“Exactly!” he shouts, standing suddenly and throwing his arms up.

Slowly, as if he' struggling to contain himself, he turns around. When Dave folds his arms to rest his hands on the back of his head, you hope that he won’t turn again. All that you want is for him to either go back to being Dave, the nice douchey hipster dork that was your best friend, or leave and take his new dickwad personality with him. He doesn’t, he drops his hands and spins to address you coldly.

“I figured you’d be a stronger leader than this. Clearly, we can’t count on you to actually focus.”

“Hey, that isn’t fair!” you begin to protest.

Before you can start fumbling for words, Karkat is up and snarling an inch away from Dave's nose. His teeth are bared and Dave is doing his best impression of someone who just saw Medusa’s face. When Karkat speaks there’s a low growl to it that makes Dave shiver visibly. Even knowing that he's on your side, you tense in instinctual fear. Never once have you seen this side of any troll.

“You know for a fucking fact that John is doing everything he can to ensure your ass is covered and ready when shit goes down. Just as he has been for the past three years, you ungrateful fuck.”

“Bullshit, he’s been letting everybody else do the work while he sits there and smiles at every person in the fucking house.”

“And what have you done?”

There’s a sort of detached horror in watching them fight. They don’t stop arguing the whole time. Dave pushes Karkat away and stands, pulling out his sword as Karkat rants. When Karkat gets cut off by Dave, he pulls out his sickles. They’re both screaming at full volume, ready to spring at each other. At some point you must have risen to your feet. You can see a lot of the others gathering timidly in the doorways and on the stairwell. This has to stop before one of them ends up dead. If this doesn't stop one of them will end up dead. Without thinking, you find yourself grabbing Dave’s arm and being pushed away just as quickly. Pushed right onto your ass.

“Stay the fuck out of this, Egbert!” he thunders, turning his fury on you.

You fly to your feet in the most literal definition of the phrase. Assuming that they at least care enough about you to stop, you step between them can't get to each other without getting past you. Dave doesn't hesitate to push you out of the way and lunge for Karkat. When he freezes mid-attack and you stare at him in confusion for a moment before you realize that Karkat is now unarmed and standing straight up. He calmly passes Dave, who turns to face him again, and wraps his arms around you.

“We’re done, Strider,” he announces calmly.

“You don’t get to decide that,” Dave snarls in return.

“My flaws as a person aren't a secret. Furthermore, my flaws as a leader are painfully clear,” Karkat admits, ignoring Dave. “But they’re nothing compared to the reasons that you should never be one.”

In the end, Dave is the first to budge. He hesitates, spits a string of curses at the two of you, and storms out the back door. Once he’s gone, you push Karkat away and climb the stairs to your room. None of your friends stop you. Footsteps sound behind you and you know that he’s following you. When you enter your room, you don’t bother closing the door or turning on the lights. The natural light filters in enough for you to see him standing right in front of you when you turn around.

“I’m sorry,” he says immediately, all of the raw shame apparent in his eyes.

You just shake your head and wrap your arms around him, burying your face in his shoulder and letting your tears wet his shirt. It isn’t long before you’re openly sobbing, but he doesn’t try to pry words out of you like everyone else would. He only hugs you closer and strokes your back while you simply let go.

On the other side of the closed door, everybody has gone back to their places. Everybody save for one blond boy who fully realizes he just made the biggest mistake of his life. The house slows and eventually people wander to their sleeping areas, settling down for the night in hopes of avoiding the nightmares long enough to get a bit of rest. Not him, though. The sobbing has long since stopped and he knows he’s the only one left awake, but he still won’t move. When the house rises again he’ll be sitting in the hall, unmoved except for the dropping of his head when he finally falls into a restless slumber. The note in his hand will still read “im sorry” in red ink and there will still be little crinkles in it where he got tears on it the night before. He will still know that it isn’t enough and so will everyone else.

When everyone is awake and moving once more, you’ll look at the note and take in every detail. Then you’ll go downstairs and tell Rose to wake him up. That’s because in the morning, you still won’t be on speaking terms with Dave Strider. You may never be again.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been sitting in my documents for a month, so it's time to give up and post what I managed to write before I hit the wall. Beta'd by Nadiya.

Your name is John Egbert and it has been about three weeks since you and Dave Strider stopped talking. You don’t care about that anymore, or at least you’re doing your best to pretend you don’t. Dave wasn’t an essential cornerstone in your life or anything, right? Things have been too distracting for you to care, anyway, because while its been something around three weeks since you last spoke to Dave Strider, it’s been a week and a half since Karkat left.

CA: hey john ivve got some bad newws  
CA: an before i evven start im goin to say im sorry  
CA: in about twwo minutes some trolls youvve nevver met are goin to showw up at your hivve  
CA: theyre not on our side  
CA: theyre comin for kar  
CA: i knoww you dont want to let him go okay trust me i do  
CA: if anyone is goin to understand its goin to be me  
CA: so i knoww its a fuckin shitty feelin  
CA: but trust me  
CA: please just trust me  
CA: an let him go  
CA: i swwear to you that ill get him back to you  
EB: you’re out of your fucking mind.

They had to hold you back while he walked out.

Eridan informed you hours later that Karkat had arrived safely and was being questioned about his reason for refusing to return the Alternian ships previously. He told you in detail about how Karkat had spun a story on the spot about those under his command questioning the empire and the Empress herself. Karkat had assured her that he remained loyal to her and only her, but that he thought it would be better to stay with the group so that he could send warning if they were planning an attack. Reading the story brought you to tears. You didn’t calm down the entire night. Eridan made sure to send daily updates from that point on.

In the week and a half that he’s been gone, you’ve become a mess. You’re constantly tense, waiting for the tone that will give you the next update on Karkat and simultaneously fearing that you’ll hear news of his discovery instead. Rose and Jade worriedly float around you often. Gamzee waits patiently for news of his moirail, but Aradia is working full time to keep him calm enough to manage. Sollux and David have been going out to check up on people instead so there’s no risk of Gamzee freaking out around strangers.

The whole ordeal has been stressful for everyone, but it’s showing most on you, Gamzee, and Dave. That makes no sense, but you guess he can’t stand not being able to help you. You see Dave watching you every once in a while. It’s as if he wants to talk to you, but isn’t quite sure how to manage it anymore. Quite frankly, he’s pissing you off. You don’t need him anymore, though. Maybe you never needed him the first place. There’s no pain at all from the thing with Dave, it’s all from the fact that Karkat is literally sitting on the enemy’s ship and they’ll kill him if they find out something’s up. This isn’t even your fault. If he hadn’t gone and turned into a fucking douchebag, you wouldn’t be shutting him out. 

He tried helping at first. That’s the only thing that actually got to you. Dave would stand by the door and watch for a while while you ignored him in favor of your pesterchum account. Eventually, he stopped observing silently and started speaking up.

“I’m sure he’s fine.”  
“He’ll come back soon, John.”  
“Ampora swore.”  
“They think he’s on their side, they won’t hurt him.”  
“Even that batshit insane Empress of theirs wouldn’t fuck with their only spy.”

Sometimes his comments calmed you, as much as you were annoyed with him trying to be all sweet. His reasoning became stronger with time and you found yourself repeating his words to yourself late at night when you were alone in the dark. Of course, you were never truly alone at night. Overcrowding made it necessary for Dave to continue to use your floor as a bed. Sometimes these little reassuring lines twisted their way from the carpet to you during the hours that you thought he was sleeping. 

Even half asleep, you still wanted to punch him.

This early morning is no different than any other night in that you wish Dave would just shut up and disappear already, but when his voice comes again it’s lighter and somehow confused.

“The fuck is the light under the bed?”

Your PDA (Dad’s PDA, but he told you to keep it) is the light under the bed. Earlier that night you’d thrown it across the room and decided not to retrieve it.

“Read it,” you say, not moving from your cocoon.

“It’s from Ampora. He says that Karkat’s on his way back.”

He keeps talking, but you’re already out of the room. You don’t even have to say anything, the entire basement sits up the moment that you step on the stairs. Since he left you haven’t set foot through that hatch. They know he’s either dead or coming home. The tearful smile on your face sends them into a cheering frenzy.

Now you’re standing at the front steps watching Equius and Eridan march Karkat forward in the dawn light. It seems like a comedy show from your point of view. Both of them walk too crisply with too much seriousness, as if they were mocking the other officers that stand alert behind them. Feferi follows them, walking with a formal grace that you haven’t seen her take on before. The four of them stop in front of you.

“The Empress would like Feferi dead, but we managed to convince her to send Feferi in as a second spy.” Equius explained. “The official story, which is fake, says that she is pretending to be a spy so that we will have two trolls on the inside. You are supposed to think that she is escaping to join the rebellion because the Empress wants to kill her. That is actually the true story.”

“Sounds good,” you say, giving them a nod and motioning Karkat and Feferi in. You try to follow them, but Eridan catches your arm as you turn to go.

“I made sure he got back to you. They wwere goin to kill him, but I pulled some strings because I kneww howw much he meant to you and howw much you meant to him,” he tells you with a sad rawness in his tone. He had been crying.

“Thank you, Eridan, you have no idea how much it means to me,” you return with a grateful smile and try to pull away, only to have him pull you back with a tighter grip.

“She might only see me as a friend, but I wwill love Fef until my dyin breath. I got him back for you, I’m goin to trust you to keep her safe in return.”

“Of course,” you promise. “We won’t let her get hurt.”

“Thank you.”

He releases you and gives you a nod, turning back to face the others. It’s right back to a comedy show as you watch them march away, but now you can see what’s under that. Those two might be some of the most terrifying people that you’ve ever seen, but they’re just trying to protect what they have. When they’ve gone, you turn to go back inside.

“Everyone, Feferi is going to be staying with us for a while. If you guys need some extra blankets for her, ask my Dad.”

You leave them to greet their friend and head upstairs, hearing soft footsteps follow you quickly. Karkat’s arms around your waist before you even reach your room and you can hear Sollux yelling something after you, but it doesn’t sound like English. Karkat chuckles in your ear and reaches for your door knob.

“He told us to get a room,” he translates as you step inside.

“Just for that we should walk right back down there,” you joke.

“No, I missed you and now I’m not going to share.”

And you don’t intend to either. For the second night, Dave Strider finds himself locked out and sleeping the hallway.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was going to be that last chapter before the epilogue, but it ended up being well over 4000 words by the time that it was done. Since this is the half that my lovely beta Nadiya got to before she disappeared, you can have this half tonight and the next half while I write the epilogue.
> 
> Also, coding.
> 
> Enjoy!

\-- caligulasAquarium [CA] began trolling ectoBiologist [EB] --

CA: okay i knoww your probably sleepin right noww but ivve got a meetin so ivve gotta be quick  
CA: and i knoww youre not answwerin cause you think im gonna try to drag kar back ovver here but that isnt it so itd be really cool if youd start answwerin my messages wwhen i send em  
CA: i mean cmon its been like a fuckin month  
CA: anywway  
CA: i told you last wweek that the empress sent all but three ships out to the next planet  
CA: wwell wwevve got some good newws for you  
CA: wwe managed to spread out a bit an get things done  
CA: im on the main ship an almost all a the crewws on our side  
CA: nep an eq got about half a their ship turned  
CA: and vvris and tavv think they got somewwhere around a third  
CA: wwere ready wwhen you are

\-- caligulasAquarium [CA] ceased trolling ectoBiologist [EB] --

You sigh grimly as you realize why Karkat rushed downstairs after handing you the pda. Brain working at a million miles an hour, you float wearily down the stairs. The masses are already gathered at Karkat’s request and nothing can be done at this point. It’s all too necessary to deal with this quickly. With a belated sense of panic, you realize your home has allowed you to become too comfortable. Before you’re even down the basement stairs you’re already talking.

“Alright, everyone, here’s the deal. We’ve just received news that the other trolls are ready to attack whenever we are.”

The announcement comes with a shockwave. A stunned silence follows before hushed, fearful murmurs rise. Nobody is really ready for this, but then again no teenager is ever ready to go to war, much less save two universes. It hits again with full force exactly what this really is. You’re all just kids about to step onto the battlefield again, to finish a fight you never wanted to start.

“What are we going to do?” asks a brave soul from the back of the basement.

You glance around the room at the small crowd at your feet. No massive specially trained multi-species army hell-bent on revenge for the wrongs done to their entire population for the last thousand or two years could ever replace your friends, the true gods of their universes. Yes, you can trust them to pull this off. Only they can.

“We’re going to trick her,” you state simply.

Silence follows.

“Okay, now you’re just fucking insane,” Sollux sighs after a moment, resting his head in his hands.

“Just trust me, it’ll work,” you promise, but are interrupted yet again.

“I don’t care what you think will work, but I’m not sure you’ve properly estimated the power of Her Imperial Condescension,” Terezi throws in, spitting her name like venom.

Arguments rise to match hers and the room quickly grows out of control. You watch with a strange sort of detached panic as they rise to their feet, firing heated retorts back and forth and turning on each other. They’re rabid with fear and ready to release it on anyone who stands in their way. Karkat gives you a pained glance and mouths pleading words. He’s right, of course, they have to be calmed down before things turn violent. The wind twists to your control and flows through the room, pulling through tangled hair and twisting around horns. Their expressions don’t relax, but one by one they all quiet down.

“Give it a chance,” Karkat begs them.

“Alright, lead on,” Sollux concedes bitterly, taking a seat on the floor again.

“We’ve got Feferi in here pretending to give updates, so we’re going to use that. Feferi, your job is to tell her that we’re going to attack in a week,” you direct, getting a nod from the sea troll. “We’re actually going to be ready in two days.”

This earns more unsure looks, but nobody protests. Sure, it isn’t ideal, but they can’t argue that they wouldn’t be as ready as they could be in two days. Everyone has had three years to prepare for this.

“What about keeping FF safe?” Sollux asks, quickly glancing over to her.

“No problem. Feferi, your other job is to stay out of any fighting that happens. If Alternia is going to recover, it’ll need your leadership. The Condesce is going to try searching you out if she can, so you’re going to stay down here until someone comes to get you,” you announce and get a motion of approval from multiple trolls.

“The next part is pretty complicated,” Karkat mentions. “Eridan practically orchestrated it himself, so everyone needs to give him due credit here.”

“Karkat’s right. The delay was my idea, but Eridan came up with luring her out.”

Again, the idea causes quite a stir, but they immediately settle when Karkat walks to the front.

“Calm down and show some respect, shitmaggots,” he hisses, staring them down until they are completely silent. “The plan is for me to go deliver a request for a meeting between John and The Condesce. That’ll take place on the third day. When she closes the ship door, our turncoat armies inside will attack the trolls that remain loyal.”

“On the outside, things are going to go similarly,” you pick up, stepping back up next to him. “Eridan managed to turn some of her most trusted officials, so a few of our people will be on the outside. When the doors close, they’re going to attack the loyalist trolls on the outside. From there, whoever can get to the Condesce first deals the final blow.”

“That all sounds so simple, but what happens when she starts pulling out mind powers?” Aradia asks, still perched delicately on her folding chair.

“Vriska’s only job is going to be to keep a shield over everyone that she possibly can,” Karkat answers for you.

“So what do we do until the day of the meeting?” Feferi asks you.

“I want every house within two blocks warned to stay in their basements on the day of the attack. Aradia and Gamzee will deal with that because people already know them. Feferi, after you deliver the message to the Condesce, I want you to go to the media and introduce yourself. Tell them you are the Empress-to-be of the new Alternian government. Ask them not to say anything other than that we seem to be getting more active. Also tell them to show up on the morning of the third day, but to stay out of the yard or road directly in front of the house.”

“What’s the point of that?” Aradia asks, her eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

“The nation, if not the world, is watching us. I want them to see what happens and to know that they’re safe,” you reply, giving her a half smile.

“What if they end up seeing their last hope slaughtered in front of them?” Gamzee pipes up, his voice scratchy and dry. You look straight into his dead, sunken eyes.

“They won’t.”

The frantic action over the next two days is shock in comparison to the tense calm of the past weeks. On the second day, you send a request to meet with the Condesce. It is hastily accepted, as if she was waiting for this opportunity. By now, everyone is numbly going through the motions of preparing for yet another boss battle. Part of you wonders if the others have actually given in to the idea that the final battle will never truly come. You would like to think that this is it, that once you get out of this you can return to your lives, but you’ve overheard Rose’s muffled sobbing one too many times to believe that. On the morning of the third day, she wakes you with puffy eyes and an even voice.

“John, we have received word that she is on her way. You might want to rally the troops,” she suggests softly, throat catching only once.

You are unable to offer any comfort past a quick hug before you make your way down the stairs, heading for the basement. She follows you, dragging a groggy Dave off of the floor to tag along behind her. The rest of your friends and family join the parade and you all crowd down the stairs together. Karkat catches your arm and pulls you back, letting them flow past you.

“Tell me you’ve got something to get them pumped up,” he growls quietly into your ear. “Because this is the deadest team I’ve ever seen and that’s definitely saying something.”

“I figure I’ll tell them the truth,” you shrug, looking at him solemnly.

Karkat doesn’t reply, he just pulls you into a quick hug and gives you a quick peck on the lips. When you two finally enter the basement, every living body there has their eyes on you. You feel rough fingers lace through yours and pointed claws tap the back of your hand. Dave looks away. Once Karkat has taken his seat, you sigh and open your mouth to begin the speech that you’ve been formulating for days.

Your mind goes blank.

All of the words that you’ve let float around, creating phrases and ideas and things that you want them to know, they’re all gone. Suddenly, your tongue feels heavy in your mouth. The silence is heavy with anticipation, but you can’t find anything to say. You look up to confusion, worry, and fear. Dave’s eyes are burning into you with judgement, even from behind his iconic shades. There is a buzz in your pocket. Quickly, you whip out the PDA and make a motion for them to wait while you read.

\-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling ectoBiologist [EB] --

CG: DEEP BREATHS ARE A GOOD THING.  
\-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] sent ectoBiologist [EB] the file "pesterlog.txt" --

With one tap on the screen, you open up... oh. It’s just part of last night’s log.

CG: DO KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO TELL THEM?   
CG: YOU KNOW, WHEN THE TIME COMES AND ALL.   
EB: yeah, i’ll tell them that i know how crappy all of this is and that i know we can do it anyway.   
CG: ARE YOU SURE THAT’S GOING TO DO ANYTHING?   
EB: it’s all that i’ve got right now.   
CG: I GUESS IT’S A START. JUST GO TO BED, YOU’RE TOO EXHAUSTED TO BE DEALING WITH THIS SHIT RIGHT NOW.   
EB: i’ve got a ton of stuff to do, though!   
CG: YOU CAN’T HELP ANYONE IF YOU’RE TOO TIRED TO FUCKING FUNCTION.   
CG: NOW JUST GO TO BED.   
CG: PLEASE.   
EB: woah you’re pulling out the pleases on me!   
EB: hehe, fine, i’m going.   
EB: goodnight, karkat! <3   
CG: GOODNIGHT, IDIOT.   
CG: <3

\-- ectoBiologist [EB] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] --

Smiling down at the screen, you flip back to the conversation. There’s already a bunch of alerts from him waiting for you.

CG: JOHN YOU’VE GOT THIS OKAY?  
CG: ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS START TALKING.  
CG: ONCE YOU START TALKING, IT’LL JUST START FLOWING LIKE IT ALWAYS DOES.  
CG: DON’T TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY, BUT YOU’RE PRETTY FUCKING AWESOME AT TALKING.  
CG: NOW PUT THE PDA BACK AND START.

You nod and slip the PDA into your pocket again. Karkat’s right, you just have to take a breath and talk. Looking back up to your friends, you flash them a small smile. Karkat’s right, you just have to take a breath and talk.

“You all look pretty terrified right now,” you observe pointlessly. “That’s kind of understandable. This battle sounds pretty impossible.”

With a long, deep sigh, the floodgates open.

“I know that things seem hopeless. We’ve had enough of these dumb ‘boss battles’ that we’ve accepted that in the end, we’ll probably come back broken and battered with scars that show and some that don’t. Some of us are doubting our luck. Others are wondering if we were meant to survive at all. This isn’t a game, it hasn’t been for years, but calling it a war has never been more accurate than it is now.

“Here’s the thing. Wars can be won by the underdog sometimes. If a huge pile of strangers who have no place to call home anymore can defeat a demonic flying dog with space powers and end up friends on the other side, then those same people can lead an army against an evil empress. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. It never is and we know that too well by now. All that I’m saying is that it’s possible.”

“You said yourself this sounds impossible,” Dave ever-so-helpfully reminds everyone. “Nobody has ever beaten the Condesce.”

“That’s true. It’s also true that nobody has ever had her own army turned against her. Nobody has had gods on their sides. We aren’t going to become another check mark on her map of the universe. Guys, we’re going to _kill her!_ So yes, Dave,” you glare and watch him flinch. “Yes, it’s true that nobody has beaten the Condesce. There’s also nobody more qualified to do it than us.”

Voices rise in agreement and Karkat starts a round of applause that turns into a rowdy mass of whooping and cheering. Only two stay silent. Dave watches you carefully, sadly even, but doesn’t lift a finger. Rose looks around the room with a smile on her lips, but tears welling up in her eyes. When Dave catches her out of the corner of his eye, she waves him away with a shake of her head.

“So here’s what we’re going to do,” you shout over the noise, allowing a breeze to flow past them to grab their attention. “I want all god tiers in their god tier clothes. My dad hung them up in the coat closet, so get them there. Everyone else, dress in whatever you feel most comfortable wearing. Weapons ready to be pulled, headsets on, be ready. How long do we have?”

“Twenty minutes,” Feferi calls out.

“Be outside in fifteen. Karkat, I’m putting you in charge of the memo.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thank you guys so much for all of the amazing comments that you've given me throughout the course of this fic! It's amazing to have such great feedback, everything from detailed paragraphs to a simple compliment is the brightest part of my day. Even the kudos are amazing, it just makes me so happy to know that people do read and enjoy this.
> 
> As always, Nadiya was my lovely beta.

The group filters out and starts moving with an intensity that you haven’t seen since Bec Noir. Everyone is working together as if they’re part of the same machine. One of the god tiers is by the closet passing clothes back to everyone else. Those that haven’t reached god tier yet are helping each other with various outfits. Terezi is getting a bit of help from Sollux with the gloves of her old FLARP costume. Feferi is fussing over the god tiers, helping them shimmy into hoods and get wings situated. Out of nowhere, a soft blue bag is thrown over your head. It takes a moment of panicked struggling for you to realize that it’s your hood.

“Suit up, windy boy,” Karkat smiles, standing behind you in his normal clothes.

Actually, not quite. His shirt is less baggy and pulled tightly against his wrists, making them appear even smaller than they are. Instead of the usual baggy jeans, he’s wearing something that looks almost like grey pajama bottoms. To your surprise he’s traded what you always assumed were running shoes for red converse. He seems to notice your confusion and laughs, shoving the rest of your clothes at you.

“Believe it or not, it is actually not always easy to move quickly in heavy-baggy clothes,” he informs you, catching your clothes and throwing them into a forming pile.

“You might have to dress battle-ready more often,” you mutter, slipping your hood on.

Wind whistles through the trees as you step outside, trailing a mass of your closest friends and family. The streets are bare and there isn’t a house with light on for blocks. At least the people in your neighborhood can listen when you tell them to hide. As requested, the media is crouched at a safe distance. Nicely dressed men and women are speaking into microphones while cameras focus on you and your friends. A message from Karkat pops up on the memo.

CG: IGNORE THE CAMERAS.

Nobody turns their head to the media as they spread out over the ground and take to the skies, keeping watch over the surrounding area. Messages echo through the memo confirming that the group is ready. Feferi sends a message saying that she and your guardians are safely sealed in the basement. Wordlessly, you glance over to Karkat. He offers a toothy smile, but nods to Rose, who has pulled her hood to cover her eyes. Your lips twitch into a frown, but you have no time to question her. A ship appears in the distant sky, shining like fire in the sunlight. It is flanked on either side by two smaller ships.

EB: remember the plan, guys.

The noise of the ships ceases once the land and the door silently opens, revealing a fair amount of troops. They march down the ramp quickly, spreading out and creating a space for Her Imperial Condescension to appear. When she does, a weight is added to the air. You immediately feel a dull sensation pressing into your mind, trying to pull you under, but it quickly clears to the point where it is bearable. If she’s pulling out her dirty tricks this quickly, she must be nervous.The door closes slowly, as if it’s drawing out every last second of the countdown. Everyone is tensed to go, ready to draw weapons. When the clatter of the door closing finally sounds, the Condesce opens her mouth to speak.

She isn’t given the chance.

Part of her accompanying troops turn their weapons on their fellow soldiers. All of your friends fly at her, weapons at the ready. What you don’t expect is the soldiers to focus on you instead of each other. They leap to defend their leader, firing into your masses. In front of you Aradia tries to backpedal, only to take a bullet to the head. She rises again moments later and quickly regains her bearings. It doesn’t take more than a few seconds for the soldiers to fall, but they threw a wrench in the plan. The force in your head presses harder. It’s still unable to press through, but the dull ache of it is enough to make this harder than it should have been.

Aradia and Gamzee charge at the Condesce, her from the air and him from the ground. Both are thrown back by a swing of the trident. Terezi tries to attack her from the other side, but gets caught up by a half-dead soldier and loses the surprise. Sollux uses his psiionic abilities to distract her, but she still throws David to the ground when he tries to swoop in from above. At that point, things get worse.

“The door!” someone cries out from above you.

The door is right. Extra troops are escaping the mayhem inside of the ship to join the battle outside. Your friends are quickly battered, forced to defend instead of attack. For once the memo stays empty, finally taking the backseat to shouted commands and warnings. You dive down at the Condesce yourself, hoping to use this to your advantage, but before you can get close enough you’re somersaulting out of the way of her trident. Immediately, a soldier attacks you and nearly puts a spike through your throat. The wind that you throw to him blows him back, but also catches Aradia’s wing and blows her to the side. Far too late you realize that you haven’t led your friends into battle, you’ve led them to a death sentence.

Exhaustion sets in quickly and various injuries seem to appear from nowhere. You only barely manage to avoid being smashed with a hammer and return a clumsy swing of your own to finish off the troll. Out of nowhere, it feels as if half of the soldiers are attacking you alone. Glancing around, you notice it might actually be true. Still, you are forced to fend off every attacker with everything you’ve got. You’re so focused that you don’t register what Dave is yelling about until three golden spikes are sticking out of your chest.

You don’t feel yourself hit the ground. In fact, the source of the spikes doesn’t register until you’re gone. Dying isn’t a new thing, it isn’t as if you haven’t looked down on your own body before. It just hasn’t happened like this. Dulled, outraged cries reach your ears. Karkat charges at the Condesce, but gets beat back by her bloody trident. It isn’t two seconds before he runs at her again

“Stop it!” you yell to him. “You won’t come back, stop fighting her!”

Your cries fall on deaf ears. When she stabs at him, he manages to move out of the way quickly. Not quickly enough, though. His pained scream echoes to you and he falls, blood spilling out over the hand that flew to his wound. You panic, desperately willing him to stand again. By some miracle, he does. To your surprise, he’s leaning against the one and only Dave Strider. Terezi catches the Condesce’s attention and Dave manages to lead Karkat to the house, setting him against the front door. It’s then that you feel the pull to your body.

When you wake up, you’re furious. You’re going to make sure she pays for ever hurting any of you. In fact, you are personally going to smash her head open so that everyone can see her royal blood on your lawn. You fly at her with everything you have and swing as hard as you can. She counters it, though with some effort, and engages you in a back and forth battle. Only once you start to gasp for air do you realize she plans to tire you out. A flicker of red wings overhead catches your attention. Before you can give up completely you have to take the opening that Aradia is giving you.

While Aradia distracts the Condesce with her bullwhip, you dive right at her stomach, planning to bowl her over. When her attention turns to you far too soon, the thought of pulling back crosses your mind for only a split second before you continue. The blow to your side changes your mind for you. As you roll to the side, you hear a yelp of pain. It takes a moment to figure out which way is up, but when you turn back you instantly regret everything that you’ve ever done to lead up to this moment. Caught on the sharp end of her trident is none other than Dave Strider.

“Ya fuckin’ prick,” she hisses, pulling him closer to her. “I coulda had your lil blue friend. This was gonna be fuckin’ over. Did ya fuckin’ hear me, ya lil shit?”

Dave spits blood in her face.

“It is over,” he rasps.

Her eyebrows draw in confusion only a moment before he twists to plunge his sword into her heart. The Empress stares at him, mouth hung open in a silent cry of pain and shock. When she falls, he doesn’t make an effort to hold himself. Your knight falls onto the ground, broken and bleeding. There’s no hesitation.

“Dave!” you choke out, rushing to his side.

“How’s that for an ironic finish?” he says with a smile, breaths heavy and labored.

For a moment, you are speechless. Dave’s shades are missing, knocked away. Gently brushing the stray hairs out of his face, you look into his eyes for the first time. You then glance down at his stomach, where the the trident has dislodged itself. Through the overflowing blood, you can see jagged rips in things that shouldn’t even have been visible.

“Okay, we can deal with this,” you assure him with a shaking voice. “We’ll stop the bleeding and find a life player and-”

“John, chill. Just let it go,” he says with a shaking smile, his pale hand even paler against yours.

“You won’t come back,” you whisper, finally giving in to the tears that have been building in your chest.

“No, probably not,” he agrees. “That’s okay, though, because you wouldn’t have come back either. I want you to live more than I want me to live.”

When you open your mouth to reply, you just choke on a sob and bow your head. His eyes are drooping now and his ragged breathing is becoming more spaced out. Only when your tears drip onto his cheek does he blink and look up at you. He lets out a pained wheeze that might have been a chuckle.

“I didn’t think I’d ever have you crying over me, Egbert,” he mutters, raising a shaky hand up to your face. “Hey, it’s okay. This shit’s all over. You can rebuild, fix it up. Lead them. When you go to bed, you can come hang out with me in my little bubble. That’s how it works, right?”

“I’m sorry,” you finally manage. “I don’t know why you got so pissed about Karkat, but I’m sorry for whatever I did and I’m sorry for being such a dick about it. And even with all of that, you still saved both of our lives. Thank you, Dave.”

Your voice cracks and you fall silent, resting your hand over the one on your cheek instead of speaking. Karkat appears behind you, having made his way over from the house. A cold shiver runs up your spine as Dave’s eyes flicker shut for a moment again before he drags them open.

“John, ‘m sorry too. I was being a dick,” he admits, straining for every word.

“It’s fine, that’s all in the past,” you assure him, taking his free hand with yours.

“Listen,” he rasps out, eyes fluttering. “I was jealous. I didn’t want him to have you because I wanted you. I didn’t think he deserved you.”

Karkat bends down next to you, watching Dave with tear-filled eyes and rest his hand on your back. He rubs small circles as you struggle to register what Dave told you.

“I was wrong,” he concludes. “Take care of him, Karkat.”

“Of course,” Karkat replies, nodding to his fellow knight.

With that, Dave lets his head roll to look up at the sky. He sighs softly and closes his eyes, gently squeezing your hand and his breath hitches. You watch on in horror as he struggles to pull in air and then he stills. The hands that is resting on your cheek goes limp and you let out a strangled cry, collapsing against Karkat.

Around you, the battle has ceased. Loyalist trolls have no leader to fight for and your friends have no reason to fight. The battlefield is peaceful again, but nobody can mistake the rainbow of colors on your lawn for anything but pain. In the middle of the spectrum is the brightest color of all, the ruby red of a knight who died a hero.


	18. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, Nadiya was the beta.
> 
> The second 8tracks mix is up now!  
> http://8tracks.com/thecolorofstars/rewind-please-14-18

“Egbert, are you ready?” Karkat asks softly, leaning against the doorway behind you.

“Yeah, just a second,” you rasp, wiping at your eyes again.

Sliding your glasses back onto your nose, you let your eyes focus on the mirror in front of you. This past year should have aged you beyond your years. Even at about seven Alternian solar sweeps, or seventeen Earth years, you can see the the bags under Karkat’s eyes with painful clarity. In the privacy of your bedroom, he assured you that his natural life span will probably exceed even Feferi’s, but you’d never know it by looking at him. You, however, look like you’re in your prime. Immortality does have its perks, you suppose.

“Come on, John,” Karkat prods, pulling you out of your daze with a hand on your shoulder.

With a sigh, you pull your hood up and follow him out of the apartment the two of you share. The nice old woman who lives next door drops her newspaper when she sees you decked out in your full god tier ensemble, but you simply blow it back into her hand and wave before diving into the sky.

It’s been one year since the battle that ended Her Imperial Condescension’s reign and one year since you’ve donned this uniform. Today the world is rejoicing, excited at the anniversary of the event that changed every life forever. People everywhere proudly display the symbols of their heroes and patrons while cheerful festivals are held all through the different nations. For one day, two universes are joined by celebration. The gods of the new world do not share this joy.

“Did you get everything?” Karkat asks you, looking down over the crowded streets.

“Yeah,” you confirm, scanning for the location you have memorized.

Karkat laces his fingers with yours, squeezing lightly. He might not want to do this for some human he barely knew and usually hated, but he’s been keeping his promise perfectly. Even through long trips to and from different countries, all to deliver Feferi’s messages to the world leaders, he hasn’t ever left your side. When you needed someone to rely on, he was right there to back you up. On the nights that you would break down in the hotel room, his arms would be the ones you fell into. When your lack of knowledge about trolls caught up with you in a room full of important men, he seamlessly switched the focus to himself. Without him, you’re sure that you would have fallen farther than even godhood could help with. Even now, he’s up on barely three hours of sleep to join you.

“Feferi said we’ve got a month before the next trip,” Karkat reminds you.

“It’s about time, we’ve been at this for too long,” you grumble, spinning slowly as you curve the wind to carry you a few streets over. “It’s all because she wants some time in person with her moirail, anyway.”

“Just because she wants to be with Eridan doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use it well. Any ideas?” he asks, trying to lighten his tone a bit more.

“I’m going to sleep for the whole month,” you inform him firmly, earning only a sigh in return.

“Come on, John, you know he’d hate to see you like this,” he mutters, pulling you by your hand into his arms. “What did he tell us back before we faced Noir?”

“Karkat,” you groan, but he doesn’t let you finish.

“What did he tell us?” he repeats, turning in the air to look straight into your eyes.

“Okay, okay,” you concede, spinning him.

Dave Strider, Knight of Time, was honored as the true hero of both universes. Due to his sacrifice, the worlds were all able to go on spinning more peacefully than they had in thousands of years. The statues they made and the songs they wrote didn’t make losing him any easier. Knowing that Alternia was hailing the mutant-blooded human as their savior didn’t stop the nightmares from coming. Still, Karkat was right, today was a day to celebrate everything that Dave gave you all.

“Sorry, Karkat,” you huff, giving him a quick kiss as you float down to the graveyard.

They raised a statue here first, a brilliant depiction of the Knight holding his sword tightly and staring bravely into the eyes of an unknown foe. A crowd is gathered around it, already stocking the ground around the statue with trinkets. Offerings to their savior. Of course, they part quickly as gods descend to the statue. Wherever your friends happen to be at this moment, you know they’re living out a similar experience.

One last form leaps down from his seat on the statue’s raised base. It is none other than Sollux Captor, the first troll (and the first god) to fully immerse himself in the human world. He works mainly on helping Rosetta Stone create programs to teach Alternian to humans and running the Alternian-Earth Connection Organization’s blog. Luckily, the humans had some say in the title of the organization. Apparently the original name was no less than twenty-seven words long. He returns your wave with a nod.

As you approach the statue, a shutter snaps from above you. Of course, you knew that David was there. Sollux doesn’t like to go far from his matesprit. Also, his wings are a bit of a giveaway. All of the practice he got flying around as a sprite turned out to be useful, though. Now he’s one of the world’s most famous photographers. It’s hard to beat a literal bird’s eye view. He takes off, leaving his perch on the statue’s shoulders to take pictures from above. Tomorrow, he’ll have them out everywhere. He’s already told you that he wouldn’t sell the photos from this little ceremony. The rest of the celebrations are fair game, though.

“Alright, let’s do this,” you say, giving the statue a genuine smile.

The first object you pull out of your sylladex is simple - a homemade necklace, similar to those that everyone else is delivering. This one is only unique in that it has the Hero of Breath symbol laid over Dave’s now famous Hero of Time symbol. You place it carefully over the sculpted sword. Karkat grabs your shoe and hands up something that looks to be the same as your necklace, until you notice his symbol in the place of yours. With a smile, you add it on.

After that, things really are all fun and games. You pull the final item out of your sylladex and grin devilishly down at Karkat before dousing him with a fair amount of sweet, fruity juice. Apple juice, to be exact. The rest of the bottle is thrown out over the crowd, carried on the wind as far as it will go. From there, the celebration begins.

It has been a year since blood covered your lawn. The clearest blood there was that of your best friend, the blood that was spilled saving your life.

You no longer mourn your Knight’s death, you celebrate his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's... it. Thank you all so much for sticking with me through over a year of short chapters, long waits, and scattered plots. Writing this has been a learning experience for me. In fact, this is the first multi-chapter writing project that I have ever finished. All of the feedback, praise, and criticism that I got throughout my time writing this was all amazing and has helped me more than you will ever know. I would like to give a special shout out to Nadiya, my lovely beta. She put up with me throwing chapters at her well after midnight and torturing her in general, so she deserves a round of applause. I'm off to finish the essay that I have been neglecting the past few days, but updates for Love's Truest Language and Hollow are sure to come quickly, along with a new AU fic. I hope to see you all back soon and thank you all so much for keeping me going for so long!


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